Don't You Know the Kids Aren't Alright?
by ProfessionalAshes0fRoses
Summary: Sebastian is a freshman desperate to get away from his parents when he enters Dalton Academy, but he soon realizes there are people here who care about his wellbeing and that frightens him. However, one Hunter Clarington has made it his personal mission to help Sebastian through his troubles. (Dalton Academy Medical Center Universe, dentist Hunter, doctor Blaine)
1. Chapter 1

**Don't You Know the Kids Aren't Alright?**  
**or**  
**The Ugly Yellow Toothbrush**

**A/N: Okay this was tacked onto the end of "I Think You're My Best Friend" as an AU but it deserves its own story. I might also do more with the DMC universe. I have a few ideas. Let's see how far this story goes. The first two chapters are reposts with slightly better editing but chapter three will be coming soon :)**

* * *

Sebastian was 14 years old when he started his freshman year at Dalton Academy. The truth of the matter was he wanted to go there mainly because of the reputation the Warblers carried. Everyone said the Warblers were like rock stars. Music was his passion and once he caught wind of this school he knew it was the one for him. Money wasn't an issue. He was lucky in that sense. His parents happily sent him away. The surplus of money didn't come close to making up for how little they cared about him but it certainly made having shitty parents a little more bearable. He would have traded it all if that meant things were different but that wasn't an option.

Long and tragic backstory aside, Sebastian didn't put that much research into every single program the school offered. He glanced over them and came to the conclusion this was a fancy rich kid school he'd adjust swimmingly to. If he only knew what exactly that meant he probably would have reconsidered the decision to go here.

During homeroom on his first day of class, a few announcements came over the intercom. He didn't pay very close attention to most of the boring things that involved class schedule or anything involving sports, however, he did write down when the Warblers would be holding auditions. One of the last announcements went as follows:

"Lastly Dalton students please don't forget that physicals as well as sports physicals, if needed, will be held over the next few weeks starting tomorrow and will start with freshman. Your teachers will hand out slips today with appointment times. Every boarding student is required to have a physical but sports physicals are optional, however please be aware that you will need one if you intend on trying out for any sport. Also starting tomorrow mandatory dental cleanings and exams will be held for boarding students. You will also find the appointment times for this on the slip from your teacher. Boarding students, please be aware that if you do not show up to either of these mandatory appointments you will receive an infraction and your parents will be contacted. As to avoid this, as well as overlap between appointments, pay close attention to the times on your slips because you will be held responsible if you miss your appointment, and if it is held during class please show your teacher said slip and you will be excused. That is all. Have a fantastic day everyone."

Sebastian felt himself grow weak from anxiety the instant he heard about the mandatory dental appointments. Doctor's appointments he could tolerate but there was no way he could handle a dental appointment. This news came as a complete shock but he quickly busied himself with ways to get out of this. Even if his parents were contacted there was absolutely nothing they could do from all the way in Washington to make him attend the appointment.

He received the slip with the appointment information at the end of class but didn't let the dental appointment date bother him because he'd already made up his mind. He wasn't going.

On Wednesday after class, he had an appointment with Dr. Anderson the on-campus doctor. This didn't phase Sebastian too much. After checking into the Dalton Medical Center he realized the staff was really nice and hopefully he wouldn't run into any issues.

A medical assistant named Marley took down his height, weight, blood pressure and boring things of that nature. He was placed in an exam area where he met Dr. Anderson (who insisted on being called Blaine because Dr. Anderson was too clinical). Sebastian took him as a cheery but approachable guy. The exam seemed to be pretty boring until Blaine got eerily close to Sebastian to look at his eyes and ears. The close proximity made Sebastian really uncomfortable, Blaine seemed nice and all and so far he trusted him, but being this close to another person made him feel very uneasy. Sebastian lost the ability to power through this when Blaine asked him to open his mouth, obviously to look at the back of his throat and such but Sebastian still couldn't get himself to do it.

"I uh– actually I just realized I really need to use the bathroom. If that's okay. I'll be right back it's just really urgent," Sebastian cut him off quickly.

Blaine looked at him questioningly as if he knew something was up but didn't fight him on it. "It's down the hall to the left. Hurry back though. We're really close to finishing."

Sebastian felt stupid as he shakily walked down the hall and into the bathroom. He didn't need to actually use the bathroom so he allowed himself to calm down in there for about 30 seconds. He knew damn well the doctor wasn't going to pay any attention to his teeth. This behavior was beyond ridiculous but he couldn't help the paranoia. He quickly finished in the bathroom and allowed Blaine to complete the rest of the exam. For whatever reason, whether due to forgetfulness or to avoid making him uncomfortable, Blaine didn't ask him to open his mouth again. Sebastian was beyond grateful. The only other thing he sort of struggled with was getting blood taken but it only hurt a little and was over quickly. Then he left.

The day of his dental appointment was another story however. It was also after class but this time he didn't bother leaving his dorm. He'd decided earlier that he'd take whatever punishment the school handed to him.

Sebastian watched the clock on the wall slowly tick to 3:30 knowing damn well he wasn't supposed to be in his dorm. But he couldn't help but feel slightly accomplished as the time quickly slipped away and he was out of the woods. It was over now. Maybe they'd forget. He busied himself with homework.

But then around 5:15 he heard a knock at the door. Sebastian silently hoped his roommate just forgot his key but secretly he suspected it was some teacher here to scold him for missing the appointment. He cautiously opened the door.

"Hi. Are you Sebastian Smythe?" a tall, buff guy with dirty blond hair asked him.

"Uh- yeah that's me."

"Hey bud. I'm Dr. Clarington. Are you aware that you missed your appointment today?"

Sebastian noted this guy seemed friendly and personable enough but he quickly took a step back when he realized who this man was. "I'm sorry. I accidentally fell asleep. I should have set an alarm but I was so exhausted that I forgot," he lied quickly.

"It's alright. It happens. Since this was clearly a mistake you don't have to worry about your parents being contacted. You'd be surprised at how often this happens actually. I'm technically finished for the day but if you want to we can get the appointment out of the way now. Otherwise, there might not be another opening until after I've finished with the seniors," the man offered. "You can call me Hunter by the way. Dr. Clarington sounds too professional." Hunter held out his hand for Sebastian to shake.

But Sebastian didn't shake Hunter's hand. He took another step to hide his body behind the door and struggled to find his words. For a split second, he considered sparing himself of the embarrassment and just going with Hunter. Maybe he was nice and they could work something out; maybe Hunter wasn't like the others. But Sebastian couldn't take that chance again. "I can't today. I have somewhere I need to be. I'm sorry." He then promptly shut the door in Hunter's face.

Once the door was slammed in his face Hunter started to realize Sebastian missing today's appointment wasn't an accident. "Sebastian if you're purposely avoiding appointments I will have to contact your parents. Unless you'd like to sit down and talk to me about what's scaring you. I don't want to go over your head with this. I can help you and we can work this out like adults."

But Sebastian wasn't an adult yet. He was a scared 14-year-old kid that didn't care about the consequences of his actions so long as he got to avoid this stressful situation. "Call them," Sebastian challenged.

Hunter sighed. "I know you're afraid Sebastian. I promise I can help," he tried again but Sebastian remained silent. "Alright. If that's how it's going to be. Your parents will be contacted about this later on tonight. But if you change your mind let me know." Hunter slid his business card under the door and then walked away.

Sebastian heard Hunter walk away and got up. He picked up the business card from the floor and ripped it up angrily. He threw the remains in the trash and then laid down. He couldn't believe this was happening. He was so embarrassed by his own behavior and frustrated that by going to this school he backed himself into a corner. There would be no silently avoiding this situation and he was worried about what lengths he would have to go to in order to avoid Hunter.

As promised his parents were contacted and he got a phone call from his mom the following night. She threatened to cut his spending money in half and then said she'd take it all away and leave him with the bare minimum. As a last resort she threatened to turn his phone off but Sebastian didn't budge. Eventually, she gave up and told Sebastian that if he wanted to fuck himself over it wasn't her problem.

Hunter quickly realized Sebastian's parents wouldn't be of any help after he received an email from his mom that essentially said she couldn't make him do anything and that the issue was his problem. He felt helpless but decided to give Sebastian some space in the hopes that he'd come to him. He wouldn't push a freshman to do anything they weren't comfortable with.

* * *

The situation went unnoticed for a while and Sebastian completely forgot about it. He adjusted well to things at school and maintained good grades. The issue didn't arise again until March rolled around and the boarding students had their biannual appointments once again. Sebastian didn't pay any attention to his slip. But this time Hunter knew Sebastian wasn't going to show up so he went straight to Sebastian's dorm room to retrieve him.

Hunter knocked on the door but since Sebastian knew who it would be he didn't answer. Hunter quickly grew irritated and knocked on the door harder. "Sebastian I will get the prefect to unlock this door for me if I need to. I won't allow you to ignore me. Spare yourself the embarrassment bud and just let me in."

Sebastian threw open the door in annoyance. "For god's sake. What do you want? Haven't we been over this already?"

"Ah yes, your slamming the door in my face last time was very productive," Hunter said matching Sebastian's snarkiness. "Anyway," he said as he stopped the door with his foot so Sebastian wouldn't slam it in his face again. "I have a proposal for you. You let me come in and listen to me for 5 minutes. Then I'll leave."

"Why should I do that?"

"Well, Sebastian I'm so glad that you ask. The last infraction you received from avoiding your set appointment was let off as a warning because it was your first one. However if you get another one you won't be allowed to leave campus and that means you'll miss regionals. Now I wouldn't want to deprive the Warblers of any talent so I'm going to be nice. If you talk to me for a few minutes I'll let you off the hook and all will be forgotten. I won't even let the school know you missed your appointment. It's a pretty sweet deal if I do say so myself," Hunter explained with a smirk.

Hunter's arrogance pissed off Sebastian but he didn't see a way around this. No way he could risk missing regionals. "Fine." Sebastian stepped aside and allowed Hunter to come in.

Hunter smiled cockily and pulled the chair from the desk out and sat on it backward so he was facing Sebastian. "Relax. We're just talking. Alright? Sit down." But Sebastian remained standing with his arms crossed as an act of defiance which didn't surprise Hunter at all. "Or that works too."

"You said 5 minutes. Yeah?" Sebastian set a timer on his phone and then turned it around to show Hunter. "Well, it's started."

Hunter smiled widely in amusement at Sebastian's behavior. "You crack me up, kid. But I'll skip the pleasantries. I know you probably think I'm being a jackass holding the Warblers over your head like this but I can't allow you to ignore me. I could be mean and tell you that if you don't come to your appointment I'll give you the infraction but I've given you my word and I won't do that. I'm trying to compromise. I've given you 6 months to cool down so the least you can do is talk to me a little and explain to me why you're acting like this." He observed that Sebastian had his arms crossed and was trying his best to look intimidating but Hunter saw through the behavior. He refused to look him in the eyes and stayed as far away as possible. His body language was defensive and scared.

"I don't have anything to say," Sebastian said simply.

"Fine, then I'll do the talking. Did you know that there are 4 main categories of dental fear? There's fear of specific stimuli. So needles, specific tools, even shame; they all fall into this category. Then there's distrust of the dentist which is also common and can be accompanied by the first category. There's general anxiety which can sometimes happen without a specific cause and is usually where the patient is afraid of everything or can't specifically pinpoint what they're afraid of. Then there's the less common but still plausible fear of a medical emergency. Quite honestly I'm trying to figure out which category you fall under," Hunter started.

"I don't fall under any because I'm not afraid." Sebastian knew lying at this point wouldn't do much good but he wouldn't admit that he was afraid.

"I don't think that's true Sebastian. You see I know that you showed up to your medical appointment with Blaine without major issue. So that rules out you just being ornery for no apparent reason. The only rational conclusion to draw from this behavior is that you're avoiding me for a specific reason... either that or you just really hate my face. For all I know you really did take a surprise nap that day and didn't avoid the appointment intentionally but then when I showed up to your door you saw my face and were just like 'nope I hate this guy'. I'll go ahead and rule that one out since I'm pretty likable."

"You're really not that likable," is all that Sebastian offered. He refused to address anything else that Hunter said.

"I suppose I put myself in that position whenever I decided that I'm not giving up on you. You might hate me for this Sebastian but I really am just trying to help." Hunter saw a wave of something cross Sebastian's face but he couldn't quite pinpoint it. But either way, some part of that statement gauged a reaction out of him. "Blaine told me you were the one who got panicky when asked to open your mouth. Is it really that bad? I mean you know he wasn't a dentist. So is this an embarrassment issue or were you afraid he'd see something?"

"I didn't get panicky. I had to take a piss. You're reading way too deep into this buddy. Looks like this mock therapy session is over though. Your clock ran out," Sebastian said holding up his phone.

Hunter swore inwardly realizing that he hadn't gotten anywhere with this kid yet. "Sebastian I want to prove to you that I'm somebody you can trust," he said as he stood up.

"Then leave. You gave me your word that all I had to tolerate was 5 minutes. Prove to me that your word means something."

"You're smart. You knew exactly what angle to play to get me to leave huh? I mean you're right. I did give you my word and I'll stick to that but I hope you take something away from this Sebastian. I could get in trouble for neglecting a patient of mine but I'm sticking my neck out for you to prove that I'm trustworthy. I hope that means something to you." Hunter left a business card on Sebastian's desk before he left.

"I'm not your patient," Sebastian muttered under his breath after Hunter left. This time he didn't rip the business card up though. He had some things to think about.

* * *

Hunter was remarkably patient with Sebastian and didn't bother him again until the following year. Soon sophomore exams and cleanings came around and naturally Sebastian didn't show up to his. Quite honestly he didn't expect him to at this point. Hunter walked to the Warblers practice room where he knew they were practicing. He knocked on the door and popped his head in.

"Hey boys. I'm really sorry to interrupt but you know how these appointments are scheduled. I need Sebastian," Hunter said to the council. Wes dismissed Sebastian.

Sebastian ducked out of the practice room with a red face. "Are you shitting me?" he fumed. "Do you really think you're more important than practice?"

Hunter rolled his eyes. "It was almost over. You'll miss 10 minutes of practice. I used to be a Warbler so I'm well aware of how it works."

"What do you want Hunter?"

"See? We're on a first-name basis now. I'd say this is the start of a beautiful friendship. So, Sebastian, you remember our deal from last year. Shall we continue this meeting in your dorm away from peering eyes? Since I'm sure everybody assumes you actually attend the appointments I set for you."

Sebastian huffed but led Hunter back to his dorm room.

"I'm bumping the time up to 10 minutes since I guess this means I'm allowing you to run from me for another 6 months."

"Fair enough. Feel free to talk AT me for 10 minutes," Sebastian said with his arms crossed.

"Of course it seems like I'm talking at you when you don't put any effort into the conversation. Well when I put it that way this sounds like a bad date. Maybe the reason I'm not getting anywhere with you is because I'm not bringing you flowers. Or the teenage boy equivalent of flowers which would probably be video games or Doritos." Hunter laughed lightly at his own joke. "So what do you want me to start bribing you with food or something?" Hunter was trying to get a smile or a smirk at the very least out of Sebastian but it didn't seem to be working.

"Why do that when blackmail seems to be working just fine for you?" Sebastian mused.

"Blackmail is a strong word. I'd like to think of it as slightly illegal motivation."

Sebastian rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

"Alright, Sebastian so let's get into the good stuff. Are you concerned about your health at all here? I've looked at your records and there's nothing recent so I know you're not seeing anybody besides me, and you're not even seeing me technically. Eventually this is going to catch up with you and I'm trying to tackle the situation before it has to come to that. There's no reason for it. If there's already some type of issue going on then there's no reason for it to get worse. But sooner or later this behavior will fuck you over and I don't want to see that happen," Hunter started.

"Well I'm fine," Sebastian said stubbornly.

"I believe that Sebastian because it's within the realm of possibility right now. If you're fine and there really isn't an issue going on then that's the time to come in. Let me do a quick cleaning and exam and then I'll send you on your merry way and we can avoid any major procedures. But I know you won't. I see it all of the time. I have another practice that I work at outside of here and let me tell you something. People in general, and even more so people that are fearful, don't come in until there's a problem. The rational ones will come in at the first touch of pain to either avoid letting it get worse and having to pay for an expensive procedure or to avoid having to put themselves through a major procedure. But then there are the ones who rely on over the counter pain relievers or chew on one side of their mouth for months or even years until their body forces them to deal with the situation. When a tooth finally starts to die the pain is almost unbearable for about a week. Nothing will help. It will stop when the tooth successfully dies but that's when it forms an abscess, and trust me those don't feel good either. They can get bad and make your face swell up, and that can actually kill you if the infection from the abscess gets into your bloodstream. I've seen it happen. I did my residency in a hospital, and for the record, it was nothing like House, and there was nothing we could do once it's reached that point." Hunter was closely monitoring Sebastian's body language and hearing this information was definitely making him uncomfortable but Hunter knew the younger boy wouldn't admit it. "Sebastian do you really want that? Especially when you have someone right here that wants to help you."

Sebastian swallowed hard but quickly recovered by making an ass of himself. "So now you're trying scare tactics? Got it. Are we done yet?"

"I'm trying to educate you on the reality of the situation Sebastian. The second you change your mind you spare yourself of a future like that," Hunter persisted. But he realized Sebastian wasn't cracking. He needed to try something else. "Alright fine. Ask me questions at the very least. Anything. I don't want to just scare you. I want to know what's going to reassure you and make you feel better. At least give me that opportunity."

Sebastian thought for a second but shook his head. "I don't care."

Hunter was frustrated but he wasn't letting it show. "I know that's not true. If you truly didn't care we wouldn't be doing this dance. Look kid, you need to give me something. The only way I can feel comfortable dragging this out is if I know I'm getting somewhere with you. If you're just going to shut me out I might not be as nice with my offer next time."

"Just keep the threats coming," Sebastian laughed. "I don't get why you care so much but let me give you some advice that's going to make your life a hell of a lot easier. Get up, open the door, and fucking walkout. Boom! You've added 10 more years to your life just by getting rid of me."

"Because Sebastian I see adults every day that are at the end of the road you're starting on and I'll be damned if I let you stay on it. I have the chance to stop this before you have to find out the hard way how much fear like this can damage somebody's life."

"You think I don't know!?" Sebastian shouted before he could stop himself. His face blanched when he realized what he said.

Hunter was speechless. Sebastian finally admitted he was afraid. "Sebastian-" but Sebastian cut him off.

"No. Your time's up. We're done." Sebastian showed him his phone as the timer went off but his hands were shaky with rising panic.

"Sebastian it's okay. This is a good thing. The first step to getting help is admitting there's a problem, and there's nothing shameful about that. I'll leave if you want me to but I need you to know there's somebody right here that wants to listen to you and understand. You don't have to go through this alone," Hunter offered as gently as possible as he stood up.

This was the second time Sebastian made a fear-based decision that he knew was harming him more in the long run. But he couldn't find the courage or trust in himself to accept the help standing here in front of him. It hurt telling Hunter to leave again because part of him so badly wanted to go running to somebody and admit how awful it was putting himself through this. But he made Hunter leave anyway because the fear always won.

Hunter did not want to leave Sebastian in the distressed state he was clearly in but this situation was so delicate. Staying against Sebastian's wishes would mean going back on his word and destroying the trust he'd been trying to build for the past year. He'd have to wait until March when 6 more months had passed. But next time would have to be different if things were going to change. Hunter went back to his office to rethink his approach.

Once Hunter left Sebastian crawled into his bed in defeat and huddled in on himself. This didn't feel like a win. He should have been satisfied with himself for successfully avoiding another appointment but the consequences of these decisions he kept making were starting to catch up with him. Sebastian should have felt more upset that Hunter knew there was something going on now but really his own lack of bravery was upsetting him more. Trust shouldn't have been this hard.

* * *

Six more months passed. This time Hunter pulled Sebastian out of class which was a regular occurrence for boarding students.

"You couldn't have pulled me out of geometry? I actually enjoy psychology. You're ruining my education here Hunter," Sebastian complained comically.

Hunter was shocked that he wasn't met with aggression from Sebastian this time but he chose not to voice that thought as to not antagonize the younger. "How are you feeling today Sebastian?"

Sebastian blinked a few times in confusion at the question. "I'm not greeted with a threat this time?"

Hunter shook his head. The aggression was back. "First of all I never threaten you. I just made you aware of the possible consequences of not complying, and let's be real. I never make the terms that unreasonable. That's why this time I'm not setting a time limit. We're gonna go back to your dorm and have a proper discussion and I'm not going to leave until I'm satisfied with the amount of progress we've made. But I will take your feelings into account and if it makes you anxious we'll take a break."

Sebastian felt his heartbeat speed up a little as he walked into his dorm. So far Hunter knew little to nothing about his situation and this time he couldn't just run out the clock.

Hunter noticed Sebastian looking a little pale as he sat down. "What's going on in your mind kid?"

"Don't call me kid," Sebastian snarked. "I hate that. I'm 16. I'm not a kid."

"I didn't say you were. It was just a nickname. It was supposed to be fond, not demeaning."

"Why would you be fond of me in the slightest?" Sebastian almost laughed. "All I've done is given you shit and made your job harder. You should hate me."

"Sebastian, why would I hate you? Yes, you're snarky and stubborn but I know you're just scared. You just need somebody to be patient with you and gently guide you in the right direction. That's what I'm here for. I want to answer any questions you might have and gain your trust. I'm not a bad guy. I know you might see me that way because of my persistence but really if I just threw in the towel and let the school punish you for the misconduct then I'd be the real bad guy. I don't want you to get punished for being afraid," Hunter spoke. He noticed Sebastian's body language was still defensive and uncomfortable so he decided not to push his luck. "So Sebastian tell me, what made you want to come to Dalton in the first place?"

Sebastian messed with a loose thread on his sweater. "Because of the Warblers. They looked awesome and I wanted to be apart of that. It was just a gut feeling I had when I watched one of the performance videos on YouTube. I just knew this was where I'm supposed to be. Getting away from home was a plus too."

Hunter smiled a little. "I was the same way when I was your age. I was so eager to get out on my own. I missed the hell out of my parents though. I thought I wanted to be on my own but being away from them was hard. But the Warblers made it easier. They really were like a band of brothers. I don't blame you for wanting to come here for that."

They chatted for a few minutes. Hunter noticed Sebastian slowly become more comfortable and once the conversation died he decided it was time to start discussing what he really came here to find out.

"Alright, Sebastian. I know you don't want to talk about it but I really need to ask you a few questions."

Sebastian groaned. "That's a pity. I just started to successfully repress the urge to set you on fire."

"Yeah yeah I'm the worst. It's been established. So let's start out with what you're afraid of happening. Think back to day one when we met for the first time. What made you give up the act and slam the door in my face? I imagine it would have been easier to just come with me and at that point, you were willing to accept a punishment if that meant not coming with me. You didn't know the school would just let you off with a warning. What in your mind rationalized that punishment was preferable to just going with me and letting me clean your teeth?"

Sebastian cringed a little at Hunter's words. He didn't want to answer this question so he didn't at first.

"It's okay Sebastian. Just think about it. I'm not going to get mad at you for telling the truth. What were you afraid would happen if you came with me?"

Sebastian looked at the floor. "I don't know."

"I don't think that's true Sebastian. Try again."

Sebastian sighed and ran a hand over his face. "What happens if I don't tell you?"

"I don't think that matters Sebastian. I can see you fighting with yourself. You want to tell me but you're afraid of what will happen, and all that's going to happen is I'm going to make this easier for you. There's no answer you can give me that's going to make me flip a switch and turn into this evil person that's going to drag you into my office."

Hunter was right, and at this point Sebastian trusted him enough to know he wasn't in any danger. "Okay. Fine. What was the question again?" he asked shakily.

"What were you afraid would happen if you came with me?" Hunter asked gently.

"I don't know how to answer that question because it isn't just one thing."

"Okay. Start out with the first thing that comes to your mind," Hunter said patiently.

"Embarrassment. I knew you'd end up seeing me upset if I came with you because that setting... it makes me like this, and I didn't know you then. I didn't want you to get angry at me for being afraid or force me to cooperate. If I went with you I could have trapped myself in a situation where you could have made me get the stuff done... even if I was afraid. You'd start doing things and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it because I'd be too embarrassed to speak up," Sebastian finally admitted with a red face.

Hunter felt appalled at the implication he'd ever do such a thing. Instead of addressing specifically what Sebastian said and reacting emotionally because Sebastian's fear was clearly stemming from what another dentist did to him and that infuriated Hunter, he chose to gently debunk his worries. "Okay. Can I tell you what really would have happened?" Hunter asked.

Sebastian nodded a little into his hands.

"As we left your room I would have noticed you were uneasy and tried talking to you about why. I wouldn't have started anything until I knew why you were afraid and you felt comfortable moving forward. I would have made sure you were okay before we started anything. If you started to feel too uncomfortable or panic at any point you'd know to raise your hand and I would stop immediately. Then we'd find a solution or I'd wait until you calmed down and then we'd continue. But at no point would I do anything if you felt like you couldn't handle it. Now knowing it would have gone like that, do you feel any better?"

Sebastian shrugged. "That helps a little."

"Okay. What else do you want to know?" Hunter asked. He could see Sebastian struggling with himself again. "You want to know if anything I do hurts right? That's what you're worried about."

Sebastian still didn't look up but he nodded a little.

"The answer is almost always no. The only thing I ever do that I can't really prevent from hurting a little is draining abscesses. That's what we talked about last time, what could happen when a tooth dies. Infection is really acidic and cancels out anesthetic so it's impossible to numb the patient until the infection is gone. But even then it's just for a second and then the pressure is relieved. It's like popping a pimple," Hunter explained.

Sebastian felt squeamish listening to that explanation. "What about more common things?"

"Common like what? A cleaning? That doesn't hurt. It might feel a little uncomfortable but I'm really gentle so it definitely isn't painful. Fillings don't hurt either. I leave topical numbing gel in the area where the injection is going to go for quite a while so it takes full effect and the injection doesn't hurt. Then the patient is numb so they don't feel any pain."

Sebastian felt sick even at the good explanations. "Okay. I don't want to know anymore."

"Are you okay Sebastian? Did any of that trigger feelings of anxiety?"

Sebastian laughed awkwardly. "It all does. I'm uncomfortable talking about this. It all gives me anxiety."

"Okay. Well, you tell me if it's too much. I'm already impressed with the amount of progress you've made today. I want to ask you one more thing and then we can wrap this up alright?" Hunter didn't want to push his luck and make Sebastian so uncomfortable that this put a bad memory in his mind.

"Okay," Sebastian said in a small voice.

"Are you currently in any pain?" Hunter asked.

"No," Sebastian said emotionlessly. Hunter couldn't tell if he was lying or not. In retrospect, and based on his reactions thus far he wasn't convinced. But there could have been something else under the surface that Hunter hadn't caught onto yet.

"Okay Sebastian. I hate leaving this situation for another 6 months but I am proud of how far you came today. Next time I'm going to push you just a tad bit farther to see what you're capable of. So be prepared for that but don't stress out about it. It'll never be more than what you're comfortable with. Do you have any questions before I leave?" Hunter asked.

Sebastian merely shook his head.

"Alright. Let me know if anything changes. I'm leaving you my business card. If there's anything you'd feel more comfortable telling me over email rather than in person shoot me an email. I'm the only one who opens them." Hunter set the card down on Sebastian's desk. "Make sure that you're keeping up good hygiene. I know that sounds stupid but it's even more important since you aren't coming to appointments. It can be mostly possible to avoid issues if you're vigilant. But you really have to stay on top of it Sebastian. No going to sleep before brushing your teeth, drink fizzy drinks with straws, wait 15-30 minutes before brushing your teeth after eating or drinking anything acidic, flossing is really really important too. If you're not already doing it then start now." Hunter saw Sebastian starting to look annoyed. "Yeah yeah I'm overstaying my welcome. I'm almost done." Hunter grinned stupidly to himself as he pulled something out of his messenger bag. "Can't believe I never thought to bring you one of these before. Here." He handed Sebastian a small plastic bag.

Sebastian tentatively took the bag before realizing what's inside. He rolled his eyes and gave Hunter a tired look.

"What? Don't look at me like that. You're supposed to replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months. Besides I gave you one of the good ones. Isn't it cute? Oh and there's floss in there that you should definitely use it if you don't because gum disease is not a good time."

"I've just witnessed a grown man use the word cute, and in reference to a toothbrush of all things," Sebastian commented to himself.

"Okay, first of all, I'm comfortable enough in my masculinity that using the word 'cute' doesn't bother me in the slightest. Secondly, that toothbrush is a looker and I will not hesitate to let it know how sexy it is. Have you seen those toothbrushes with the bristles all frayed and begging for death? Not a sexy toothbrush. Do you get what I mean?"

Sebastian furrowed his eyebrows at Hunter and looked at him like he was insane.

"Yeah. That's my cue to leave. I really am proud of you though, Sebastian. I want you to know that. Let yourself feel proud of the progress you made today. I know it was difficult. You did good," Hunter said as he left.

"Alright, get out of my room with your motivational speaker ass."

Hunter smirked at the comment; it didn't have the same venom behind it. It was almost fond. Almost.

After Hunter left Sebastian felt so damn conflicted. He wanted to believe Hunter was different. But there was a part of himself that didn't want to trust under any circumstances. It was the only way to keep himself safe. Trusting Hunter would mean handing over that safety blanket.

When Hunter got home he stayed up until midnight researching different things to make sure he got this next step right. After hours of reading and consulting different reliable sources, he was satisfied with what he learned. This is how he was going to help Sebastian.

The rest of Sebastian's sophomore year was full of achievements despite his troubles. He was one of those people that kept himself busy and buried himself in work so he wouldn't have to think about what was wrong. But he was one hell of a student and a Warbler because of it. Soon the next school year came and he was an upperclassman now and a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

On the day of Sebastian's "appointment" Hunter made sure he'd have enough time to properly work with Sebastian so he waited until he was finished with all of the students that had real appointments. It was around 5 pm when Hunter walked to Sebastian's dorm. Thankfully his roommate had lacrosse practice so he'd be gone for a while.

Hunter knocked on the door and Sebastian let him in. However, the younger seemed more anxious this time than he was in their more recent meetings.

"What's wrong Sebastian?" Hunter asked.

Sebastian shrugged and blew off the question.

"Do you want me to explain what we're doing today so you don't have to worry about it anymore? I promise it's nothing you can't handle," Hunter offered.

"Is today the day you finally get sick of my shit and force me to cooperate? Get me restricted so I can't perform and take the Warblers away from me," Sebastian bit out as he sat on his bed.

"That's not even close Sebastian. I won't be forcing you to do anything and I'm not going to get you in trouble. Do you really think after all of this I'd just back you into a corner with an ultimatum?"

"Last time you said this time would be different so how the hell am I supposed to know what you have up your sleeve?" Sebastian said.

"Okay lets clear the air so you'll stop assuming the worst. Today I want to try a form of exposure therapy. There will be absolutely no pressure for you to let me do anything to your face hole, alright? I'm not expecting that. The thing is with your specific phobia a lot of the potential triggers are unavoidable so it's a matter of desensitizing you a little to reduce that anxiety. Avoidance makes anxiety worse and the goal today is to target avoidance behaviors. I'll expose you to specific stimuli that cause distress, which yes doesn't sound fun but is proven to be effective in reducing anxiety. You've told me that pretty much everything scares you and through a little exposure therapy we can at least shrink that list. But you have to be willing to subject yourself to stimuli that scare you in order for that to happen. Sebastian, through this journey I'm not just looking to fix whatever is or isn't, I'm not judging, wrong with your face. I want to target the anxiety too. But the real question is do you want this to get easier so you can eventually feel comfortable with appointments? As in are you willing to address this anxiety and try to do something about it?"

That was a lot to digest so Sebastian was silent for a few seconds in thought. "I don't know," he finally said. "What do you mean by stimuli that scares me? What would you want me to do?"

"Okay so the goal of exposure therapy is to make the thing or things that scare you less scary by letting anxiety run its course naturally and letting your body wear itself out until you calm down. It literally rewires the pathways in your brain that relate those things to distress. But how far we go depends on your needs. So maybe for you to reach a significant level of distress all you have to do is walk into my office, or maybe it will take sitting in the chair and reclining it. Ideally, by the end of the session your anxiety will have reduced by 50% without succumbing to avoidance behaviors," Hunter explained. "Is that something you'd be willing to try?"

"Maybe," Sebastian said reluctantly. "Do you really think it would help?"

"Well in 2 years at Dalton you haven't stepped foot into my office, which is fair and I agreed to let it happen, but I think this would help desensitize you to specific things. It won't be a cure-all because there are other elements of your phobia that will only be reduced when you have full trust in me but I'm hoping this will help in accomplishing that too."

Sebastian thought about it for a second. "I don't think I want to," he said.

"What's the worst that can happen Sebastian?" Hunter asked.

Sebastian didn't know how to answer that because he really did trust Hunter. He trusted his judgment and trusted he had the best of intentions. Assuming he was serious about not forcing him into anything then there really was nothing to be afraid of– not afraid enough of to fight Hunter on this. "I don't want to embarrass myself," Sebastian settled on saying.

Hunter knew what Sebastian was talking about because of their previous discussions. "Sebastian you're a human being that experiences emotions and I by no means expect you to be an emotionless cyborg. People feel things. Everyone. Even Chuck Norris. He could be afraid of ducks for all we know." That didn't seem to help much so Hunter decided to take a slightly different approach. He sat down on Sebastian's desk chair for a moment. "I'm afraid of things too Sebastian. So long as you don't puke on me we'll be doing fantastic. I threw up on Blaine once. I know that sounds like a made-up story but it really happened. He was taking blood from me and I made the mistake of looking down at it. Then I just puked. On him. Not a good time."

"Your puke story isn't enough to make me feel great about making myself considerably vulnerable. I don't think you get it, man. I don't trust people anymore. I keep shit to myself and I don't ask for help. I'm so damn stubborn the infamous lasso of truth wouldn't make me budge," Sebastian struggled to explain.

"And when you say stubborn you mean utterly traumatized by past experiences. People don't become this closed off just for shits and gigs. Someone severed your trust to the point where you don't trust anyone at all. This isn't just a distrust of dentists thing. It's a distrust of all people thing. So this issue has never really just been my profession. Trust just isn't in your vocabulary. You don't know how. This is how you keep yourself safe, right?" Hunter analyzed. "Something happened in your life that messed you up so bad you won't let yourself trust anyone even if it goes against logic. I think this goes deeper than the situation at hand too."

"Listen buddy," Sebastian bit out, "I didn't sign up for a therapy session. I only told you that stuff because I didn't want you to take it too personally when I shut your ground-breaking idea down. I admire your persistence, I really do. But this just isn't going to work. It would– maybe. If I cared. The problem is I don't. With that being said, I think it's time for you to leave." Sebastian got up and held the door open for Hunter with a sarcastic smile.

Hunter's face contorted in an ugly display of the realization that he fucked up. "Sebastian, no. That's not the reaction I meant to gauge. I want you to talk about it– if it helps. But you don't have to. Honestly we can just forget l said whatever it was to make you go into defense mode and continue on this journey of self-discovery, and when I say self-discovery I mean you, yourself, discovering I'm trustworthy. As in 'hey Hunter isn't as awful as I thought'. So, not the intended meaning of self-discovery but you see where I'm going with this." Hunter was trying to avert Sebastian's attention. He knew exactly what he said that set Sebastian off but hopefully it would make the younger feel better to believe he didn't know.

Sebastian looked at him skeptically for a few seconds but then decided to close the door. "Give me one good reason to do this."

"Listen, I could give you at least 20 without putting much thought into it but I'll settle on just one. Deep down you know you want to because this is the first step to conquering a phobia that you'll otherwise be struggling with for the rest of your life. To be perfectly honest with you maybe it will never completely go away even with your full cooperation, but I promise I'll at least get you to a point where the phobia isn't beating you anymore. Once you're an adult there won't be an authority figure to step in and tell you you're being stupid. This is the only time in your life where you'll get that. After Dalton, you'll be fully responsible for yourself. Now do you really want this to carry into your adult life or are you willing to tackle it now before it has the chance to do some serious damage to your life? I gave you the whole 'I've seen the end of the road you're starting on' spiel a while back so I'll spare you the speech. But that's my reason, basically a really kind 'stop being stupid'."

"Fair reason," Sebastian muttered to himself. He seemed to be deep in thought.

"Come on Sebastian don't even think about it. Just get up and come with me before you have the chance to talk yourself out of it. You know nothing is happening to your face, this is just addressing the anxiety. We're gonna kick it in the ass. I mean maybe not completely in one session but you get the idea. At the very least after this you'll know you can step foot in my office without dying," Hunter encouraged. "I know you can do this Sebastian. I believe in you."

"Cool. I sure as hell don't," Sebastian deadpanned.

Hunter frowned. "Not to be blunt but if you don't at least try then I see why you have no reason to believe in yourself."

It was something about that statement that infuriated Sebastian. Hunter subtly calling him out on his self-pity, but just in the right way where Sebastian knew the only person he could be mad at was himself. It infuriated Sebastian just enough to want to prove Hunter wrong. So he got up with wobbly knees and swallowed back his terror.

Hunter smiled. "Damn right. Let's go."

The two walked in relative silence to Hunter's office on campus before Sebastian decided the silence was making his anxiety worse. "You knew just what to say to piss me off in the right way."

"What can I say, you're a lot like I used to be. You have my sympathy when it comes to most of this, as I've proven with my patience. But I won't tolerate any of that self-deprecating bullshit. Your phobia is mostly out of your control, but you do control what you tell yourself and you lose my sympathy when you start consciously making it worse for yourself. I'll help you deal with where you are but what we aren't doing is taking steps back. What I said pissed you off because you never truly believed it. When I agreed with your self-deprecating statement it lit a fire under your ass," Hunter said. "That tells me you don't identify with that shit so don't you dare speak it into existence. This. This right here. Even little acts of bravery like this give you reasons to believe in yourself. If you can do this you can go the whole nine yards."

They (or more so Hunter) had been talking for so long that they'd arrived at the office. Hunter unlocked the door and looked at Sebastian expectantly. "I have to ask, how many speeches do you have stored in there buddy?" Sebastian asked sarcastically as he followed him in against his better judgment.

"Many. So many. I've got the 'you deserve better' speech, the 'follow your dreams' speech, the 'meth isn't the answer speech'– you better never need that one. You'd be surprised by the number of drugs these rich kids can afford. Boarding school, man."

"You'll be pleasantly surprised to hear that I'm fucking up my future with every unhealthy coping mechanism other than substance abuse," Sebastian offered helpfully.

Hunter furrowed his brows. "Well, I can't decide if that's a cry for help or not but this is where we're supposed to start focusing on the experience at hand. Distraction defeats the purpose. We're supposed to discuss what you're feeling and let anxiety take its course."

"Well I'm full of anxiety so demand shouldn't be an issue."

"How anxious are you feeling on a scale of 1 to 10?" Hunter asked.

Sebastian shoved his hands in his pockets as if that would make him feel any safer. "Since we're just in the waiting room about a 4. It's tolerable."

"Unfortunately that's not high enough yet. Let's walk into the back office," Hunter said, opening the door and waiting for Sebastian who expectedly wasn't eager.

"I uh– I'm fine here actually."

"Sebastian I'm not going to ambush you once we get back there. Remember the whole point of this is to get you to a pretty anxious state, and that's not going to happen in the waiting room. I know it's not fun but we've discussed that I'm not doing anything to you. You have to commit to the therapy and trust that this is just going to freak you out but nothing bad will happen," Hunter tried to coax even though he technically wasn't supposed to be. Fairly he wasn't a trained therapist and this was the first time he'd ever tried to do something like this.

"Fuck. Okay. You go and I'll follow behind. I don't know where we're going."

"Fair enough." Hunter walked into the hallway and Sebastian was following behind shockingly. But he stopped once Hunter walked into an exam room.

Hunter looked over Sebastian and he could tell the anxiety was already taking a toll. "What number are you at?"

"About a 5. We're sure getting there." Sebastian pinched the bridge of his nose. The color scheme of the room was gray and dark turquoise. Aesthetically you could tell Dalton put money into this office as all of the equipment looked up to date. The scenery sent shivers all over Sebastian's body and he was already starting to get hit with a wave of unease. Just knowing what went on in here on a normal day felt like a damn monstrosity and he knew that was dramatic. Something so normal felt so barbaric in his mind. He knew it wasn't normal.

"Still not enough. You should probably walk in here."

"I figured," Sebastian huffed. He fought more anxiety as he walked in. This was insane. He couldn't believe he was stepping foot into an exam room after all this time. He barely got in the door before he had to stop again. "It's at 5 and a half now by the way. 10 points from Slytherin because this office smells exactly like past trauma."

"I resent that point deduction. So what number do you think you'll be at if I ask you to sit in the chair?" Hunter wondered.

"I don't know but definitely higher."

"How about you sit down and then we'll talk a bit before moving any farther?" he offered.

"Sure. You know just fuck me up fam," Sebastian joked half-heartedly. "I know it's just sitting in a chair and you aren't doing anything but everything in me is telling me to run because something bad is going to happen," he said still standing.

"That's why we're doing this. The only way to get rid of those feelings is to re-train your brain to stop associating these things with panic. You have to teach yourself you're safe. You're already doing great by not succumbing to avoidance behavior. But we still have to push it a little more. So come sit down. This is just anxiety, it can't hurt you," Hunter explained.

"That's subjective. It can't physically hurt you but it can sure do some damage," Sebastian muttered. He finally got the guts to sit down and did so reluctantly.

Hunter smiled in satisfaction and sat down on his swivel stool. Sebastian looked worried for a second before sort of relaxing again. "What's your number?"

"6," Sebastian said.

"Okay. What are you feeling?"

"Like this isn't even the worst of it. You aren't actually doing anything today. I trust you aren't going to blitz attack me or anything. But this isn't real and that's still in the back of my mind as a comfort. There's no way to simulate what actually being under your care will feel like until it's happening and there's no way to prepare me for that. There's no way to prepare me for what I'll feel– and the pain. Everyone tells you that shit doesn't hurt but it does and you just have to fucking put up with it and I won't put myself through that again. I'm really tired of this shit fucking me up Hunter and I'd rather experience every negative thing that comes with avoiding this even if it fucks up my life. It won't fuck me up as bad as any of this will." Sebastian was starting to panic a bit more. "It's at a 7 now. I'm working myself up."

Hunter looked really concerned, and he could tell Sebastian was embarrassed by his admissions because the younger wouldn't look at him. "It won't be like that with me Sebastian. I know you can't believe me but I promise I'll take every precaution to make sure that you're okay, and there will be no pain ever."

"Not possible," Sebastian argued. "Why would you lie about it?"

"Because I'm not lying Sebastian. What exactly are you so sure is going to hurt?"

Sebastian just shook his head. "You people just lie. I don't know why I've trusted you at all. None of this means anything. You're putting on a front but it'll just be like every other time. Once you get the chance my well-being doesn't mean shit and it's just about getting the job done, getting your money, and sending me away all fucked up."

"Sebastian if you were just a paycheck to me I promise you would know by now. I would have forced you in here the first day, to hell with your well-being. But I didn't. I've been trying to work on your anxiety specifically for years now, and that's what we're doing right now because I do care about you. I don't want to send you away fucked up. One of the most important things to me has been getting you to a point where you are able to deal with this stuff on your own as an adult. Sending you away traumatized would do the opposite. Think about it. Every one of my actions have proven your worries wrong. If I were like that what I've done so far wouldn't make sense," Hunter tried to reason.

"But what about the things you can't control?" Sebastian asked.

"What do you mean?"

"There's gotta be something wrong with me. The numbing stuff just doesn't work. It hurts. I've told them before and it still hurt so there has to be something wrong with me," Sebastian said blinking back tears.

Hunter's heart broke and all he wanted to do was make sure that never happened to Sebastian again. "But it wasn't your fault. It was their fault. We're trained to know how to deal with situations like that. They didn't do their job. I promise you there's always a way around it if your body reacts differently to the medicine or your nerves are in a slightly different place. You're not some impossible medical mystery Sebastian, they were just neglectful."

"Oh," Sebastian said in a small voice. "Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent sure." Hunter knew reassuring Sebastian was defeating the whole point of exposure therapy but he couldn't just ignore what the younger said and let those worries keep floating around in his mind. "Sebastian are you ready to continue with this? I'm going to lean the chair back and you can tell me about what you're feeling."

Sebastian shrugged. "Fine."

Hunter was silently starting to doubt if this therapy specifically is what Sebastian needed. It certainly wasn't going to hurt him in any way but maybe it just wouldn't be as helpful as he hoped. Debunking his worries seemed to be more helpful than exposing him to specific stimuli but he leaned the chair back nevertheless, not willing to completely abandon this idea yet. The next thing he did without warning. Hunter flipped on the light and that in combination with laying completely vertically gauged a strong reaction out of the younger.

Sebastian knew it was coming but he wasn't expecting the light in his face and it all felt so disorienting. For a second he forgot where he was and that he was safe. He was back in that awful place again and everything was out of his control. Sebastian covered his mouth with his hand and started breathing rapidly and he knew the reaction was ridiculous but this felt so real.

"Hey whoa, Sebastian, it's okay. Sorry for surprising you. What number are you at?"

"Nine," Sebastian said with his mouth still covered. He wanted Hunter to turn it off but he didn't have the guts to ask, and he realized this is exactly what he signed up for. He was frozen and his heart was pounding.

Hunter was quickly starting to realize exposing Sebastian to this and making him feel anxious was going completely against his nature and what he was trained to do in situations like this. But it was necessary so he stuck to it. "I know it doesn't feel like it but this is good. This is an ideal level to be at. Unfortunately for this to be effective you're not allowed to succumb to any escape or safety behavior and covering your mouth right now is a sort of safety blanket. So when you feel ready I want you to move your hand away from your mouth."

"But the light is over my mouth," Sebastian argued.

"Yes. That's the whole point of what we're doing. If that didn't bother you we wouldn't be here," Hunter said unhelpfully.

Sebastian huffed and slowly moved his hand away from his mouth.

"Good. So is your anxiety rising or falling?" Hunter asked.

At first, Sebastian didn't even want to talk with this damn light over his mouth but to be fair Hunter wasn't sitting over him. He was sitting off to the side a bit so that made Sebastian feel a little better. "It spiked when you initially leaned me back but once I realized I was safe it went back down again. I don't like this but I'm at about a 7 now. It's falling because I know none of this is real and you won't do anything unless I give you permission to."

"Not to pressure you into anything, but what you said earlier about none of this being real made me rethink the whole point of this therapy. The stimuli aren't the cause of your phobia, its what you're afraid will happen. This- it won't help that Sebastian. It will help to an extent yes but not as much as I'd hoped. The only thing that will help you is good experiences. Real experiences. I know you don't want to hear that but its the truth."

Sebastian sighed. "I knew you were gonna say that. I mean I brought it on myself because I kept saying this isn't real. I just don't understand what I'm supposed to do."

"Trust me?" Hunter offered, again unhelpfully. He turned off the light and sat Sebastian's chair up. "This isn't working. So let's start out small. We can take some quick X-rays and then go from there. You can deal with that, I know you can."

Panic crossed Sebastian's face at the suggestion. "No. Not happening."

Hunter looked at him skeptically. "What are you afraid will happen?"

"I don't know."

Hunter knew that meant Sebastian didn't want to tell him. Slowly he started to make sense of it all. If whatever Sebastian didn't want to tell him were a legitimate worry he would have voiced it by now, he proved that with his other admissions from earlier. There was also his treatment-related worries earlier about getting numb. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on here. "Sebastian, you're a smart kid so I know you can't think this little of me. You know that I know. So let's skip over the part where you try to hide whatever issue you have from me. It's a thing, that's fine, shit happens. Let's move forward. So like I said, X-ray?"

Sebastian's face hardened. "I don't know what you think you know, but I think I've had enough of your face for today. So I'm gonna leave and we're just gonna pretend all of this never happened. Have a nice life."

Hunter groaned in a loud, dramatic fashion. "Seeeeebbbbbbastain, you're really gonna make me do this song and dance with you? After all the progress we made today? I'm personally not into the whole denial thing so don't think I'm going to make this easy for you. If you walk out of here right now I'm going to take it as a challenge."

Sebastian's back was already to Hunter at this point and the only response he received from the younger was a middle finger.

"Classy Sebastian! That's real ballsy coming from the guy who probably can't even chew chocolate right now. You're depriving yourself of the greatest gift of human existence!" Hunter realized he wasn't getting a response after he heard the door to the office open and shut. However, he smirked to himself once he got an idea.


	2. Chapter 2

**Don't You Know the Kids Aren't Alright?**  
**or**  
**The Ugly Yellow Toothbrush**

* * *

The next morning Sebastian was leaving his dorm for classes when he almost tripped over a small white bag. When he picked it up he realized it contained a new toothbrush, mini toothpaste, floss, and a familiar business card with a note inscribed on the back.

{You get the ugly yellow toothbrush this time :( }

Sebastian huffed in annoyance and threw the bag in his room before continuing on with his day. But at lunch, the Warbler's table received an uninvited guest. Hunter sat down at the end of the table as he casually ate an apple. One of the boys asked him why he was here.

"Ya know, just hangin' out. Let me in on all the gossip." Hunter put his elbow on the table and rested his head in his hand, looking interested.

Some of the boys laughed. Hunter was generally liked among all of the students at Dalton, kind of like a cool teacher.

Hunter made direct eye contact with Sebastian as he took another bite of his apple, and the younger looked away awkwardly. He looked very uncomfortable at Hunter's presence. Hunter sat there for about 5 minutes chatting with some of the other Warblers before Blaine, the on-campus doctor, walked in (presumably to get a snack or something). He gave Hunter a weird look from across the room, a silent "what the hell are you doing?".

"I guess the whole apple a day thing doesn't hold that much truth, huh? That's my cue to leave." At that Hunter scurried away, but not before slapping Sebastian gently on the back.

"Who are you harassing?" Blaine asked Hunter accusingly, catching him before he walked out.

"That's my business," is all Hunter said before walking out of the lunchroom.

Later that day at Warblers' practice all of the boys were gathered around a box of chocolates. They looked at Sebastian when he walked in. "You've got a secret admirer," Thad smirked.

"Ooooooooohh," the other boys echoed.

"Shut up. Let me see that." Sebastian opened the box and naturally, Hunter's business card was placed strategically on the inside. Sebastian huffed and crumbled up the card and put it in his pocket before anyone else could see.

Right after practice, Sebastian stomped angrily to Hunter's office. He was so angry that he completely forgot appointments for students were going on. When he saw the receptionist his anger completely melted away and his chest got tight.

"Sorry, do you have an appointment? There aren't any appointments left for the day unless you have an emergency then I can–"

"I uh– no I don't. It's not an emergency. Just– sorry, forget it," he stumbled awkwardly, his face red. Sebastian turned to walk out.

Just on cue Hunter was seeing out another boy and smirked when he caught sight of Sebastian. "Oh Sebastian what a pleasant surprise. Marley, you can close now. Sebastian and I are going to have a conversation in my personal office." Hunter stood there waiting.

Sebastian was shaking and flustered but he followed Hunter so they could talk in private. The second they were alone Sebastian near shouted, "are you shitting me?"

"In my defense, I did warn you there would be repercussions if you walked out yesterday," Hunter said.

"I cannot have any of the Warblers know about _this, _Hunter. Your damn business card was right on the inside of that box of chocolate? How the hell would I explain that?"

"Everyone here knows I joke around, but maybe if you want your ego to stay intact you'll just suck it up and admit something is wrong. I mean if you don't want dental facts or something ridiculous showing up on your coffee. Listen, I'm good friends with one of the baristas and she will assist me in this helpful mischief. You can ask Blaine–"

"For god's sake Hunter this isn't a game."

"Oh, my mistake. Your childish behavior led me to believe you'd appreciate a good game. But maybe something more along the lines of tag would suit your maturity level," Hunter said with a smirk. Unfortunately, Sebastian seemed to be getting legitimately angry. "Okay, hey listen. This is just playful banter alright? Otherwise I might have taken offense to that colorful finger yesterday. So let's sit down and have a proper discussion. This is my serious face. I'll act like an adult now."

Sebastian took a deep breath and sat down across from Hunter despite himself. "Are you sure you know how to do that?"

"Oh Sebastian, you're one to talk. I don't think hiding behind blatant denial is getting you any closer to being an adult. Gotta face this stuff head-on. So just tell me what's going on."

Sebastian crossed his arms. "Nothing. I only came here to tell you to stop harassing me. So could you do me a favor and, I don't know, find something better to do?"

"Mmmm... nope. Not until you're honest. Until then you're my new experiment. It's a 'how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop' type thing except the center of the tootsie pop is your breaking point," Hunter said with a sarcastic smile. "Okay, jokes aside. I don't want to keep harassing you because honestly I'm starting to get low on ideas. So tell me, what on earth more could you want from me, Sebastian? More time to let shit get worse?"

"I just want you to leave me alone," Sebastian groaned.

"Fine. I can do that. Just admit I'm right."

"No."

"No as in I'm not right or no as in you just won't admit I'm right? Because I'm going to assume the latter–"

"Dammit, Hunter how can you expect me to take you seriously when you keep antagonizing me and pissing me off more? Maybe it's just that hard for you to turn off the smartass in you but I want you to know you're losing me here. Fucking just squash any hope that there's an adult I can come to for help! You're supposed to be the one that doesn't fuck up," Sebastian said, slamming his hands down on the table. He was shaking angrily and ready to give up again. Hunter was supposed to be different.

Those words hit Hunter hard and his face fell completely. "Sebastian I'm sorry. I really do have a sharp tongue that isn't always appropriate. I swear I'm turning it off now and you have my full sincerity. I want you to honestly believe I'm a person you can trust. I can come off as a jackass but I really do care and I love my job. I wholeheartedly try my best to do good and help people, and that's why I haven't given up on you regardless of how stubborn you are. So let's do this the right way. Will you talk to me about whatever's going on?"

Sebastian relaxed a little when Hunter got serious again. This was the person he needed right now. "You don't have to drop it completely, I don't want you to be serious all the time because then things start to feel too clinical. Just find a balance. You had me fuming there for a second and I would have walked out if not for the fact you've somewhat earned my trust."

"Somewhat? That's better than nothing. I'll take it. So Sebastian do tell me, what do you feel like divulging to the guy you somewhat trust?"

Sebastian looked like he didn't want to say it but he was starting to give in.

"It's okay Sebastian. Just tell me. I promise it's not a big deal and I won't get angry," Hunter pressed gently.

Sebastian's facade faltered and his face started to screw up a little like he was trying not to cry. "I didn't lie that time when I said nothing was wrong. Nothing was wrong then, and I swear I did everything in my power to avoid this and I don't know how it happened-" he started to fret.

"Relax Sebastian," Hunter said smoothly. "I'm not mad at you. I figured it would take something to make you finally realize the avoidance was an issue. If you weren't lying then that means this hasn't been an issue for that long, and the earlier we catch it the better. How bad is the pain right now?"

"It isn't that bad. Just enough to know something's wrong. It started with shocks of pain from sweet things and then it started to have this subtle ache. I'm just so mad at myself because this isn't a tooth that's already had a filling in it or anything. It was new and fine. I know teeth are supposed to finish growing in at like age 12 but there was this one that didn't want to show up for a while. I mean imagine teething for the final time at age 16, and you know once it finally broke through I thought I was in the clear and it wouldn't be uncomfortable anymore. But somewhere in between breaking through the surface and coming in fully, it got fucked up. I can't even floss behind that tooth yet and it's fucked up. This feels like I neglected my child or something," Sebastian babbled nervously.

Hunter tried not to laugh at the neglecting a child metaphor because this was a serious situation and he didn't want Sebastian to think he was laughing at him. "Well, okay it makes me happy to know you care enough about your teeth to compare them to children. Anyway are you sure that's not your wisdom teeth coming in?"

"It's not. Everywhere else has 2 molars and I only had one on the bottom left side for a while but now there's two. Wisdom teeth are the 3rd ones right?"

Hunter smiled at Sebastian's tidbit of knowledge. "You're right. So it is a second molar. But if you said you still can't floss behind that tooth maybe this is pain from it trying to finish growing in? I mean the pain with sweet things usually does point towards a different… uh, issue. So don't think I'm trying to give you false hope but you shouldn't try to self-diagnose issues like that. Trust the professionals. But even if it is a cavity that's not a big deal because we caught it early. Tiny fillings are easy, you forget they're there and they might never need to be replaced with good care. Bigger fillings are the ones that cause issues and that's why we want to catch these things early. Do you follow?"

Sebastian nodded a little. "Yeah I got it. So you're really not mad?"

"Are you kidding? No way. First of all, this is probably the best time in your life to get a cavity because the school covers everything. You don't have to face the adult problem of worrying about paying for it quite yet. Secondly, you clearly care about your face hole so this isn't neglect on your part. Besides I don't ever scold people, I politely educate and encourage them to do better," Hunter explained.

"Figures a fancy rich kid school covers this even though everyone here has money and can afford good insurance. This shit is ass-backward."

"I know it is. But that means they pay me well and I can afford to help out people that aren't as lucky at my personal office off-campus. It all comes back around. I know that doesn't usually happen in the real world but I do my part," Hunter said. "Anyway, not to cut the grandiose short but let's get back to why we're here. I'm gonna give you two really easy options. Do you want to start with X-rays or with an exam? Personally I prefer to start with an exam to avoid unnecessary X-rays, a thought that seems to not have occurred to every other dentist in America, but it would make sense to at least do one in the area where you mentioned pain."

But Sebastian was still in comfortable denial and not quite ready to face this. "Neither is good. Can I leave now?"

"I mean I'm not going to physically hold you here hostage or anything but I'm going to very strongly encourage you to pick one of the options. Let's do the one quick X-ray so we'll know, alright? Then we can look at it together," Hunter suggested. He threw an arm around Sebastian and gently forced the younger to walk with him. "Come on Sebby boy it's time to put on your big boy pants. This isn't anything you can't handle."

"But what if I don't want to know," Sebastian fretted as they walked back into an exam room. "Hunter I don't know about this. I mean is it really that important to know?"

"Yep. I'm not making your denial any easier. Big boy pants remember? Sit down and I'll grab the bitewing."

But Sebastian didn't sit down and was still standing there awkwardly when Hunter walked back in.

Hunter sighed a little. "Sebastian, you're safe. It's okay. It's just a chair, and I'm just going to stick a piece of plastic in your mouth for a few seconds, walk out, and then press a button. That's it. That's all this is. Don't think about what it means." He gently ushered Sebastian into the chair and put the heavy radiation apron on him before he could scurry away.

Sebastian felt so small at this moment but saying no to such a simple thing would be ridiculous. This was a different situation than his last experience and he trusted Hunter. His heartbeat pounded hard but he allowed the situation to happen.

"See? You're not dead." Hunter slipped on gloves and grabbed the bitewing. "This is so easy Sebastian. I'm just going to put this in the back of your mouth and you're going to bite on it. Open your mouth a little for me now Seb so I can put it in there."

Sebastian started to sweat from the clinical situation but somehow found it in himself to just suck it up and open his mouth.

"Fantastic. You can close now." Hunter placed the X-ray machine piece up to Sebastian's face.

The taste of rubber gloves in his mouth even for a second made Sebastian's thoughts start to spiral but it was quickly over and all he had to do was sit there like an idiot while Hunter walked out and pressed the button.

"And you're done. The first step is down." Hunter took the plastic piece out of Sebastian's mouth and put in on a tray.

"And many more steps, panic attacks, and crying to go," Sebastian added bleakly.

"No," Hunter argued as he sat down on the swivel stool to pull up the X-rays on the computer. "This time won't be like that. Maybe a little bit of crying but no panic attacks. Not with me."

But Sebastian was doubtful. "What do the X-rays say?"

Hunter squinted his eyes a little at the screen and hummed. "It's hard to tell. Some cavities are too small to show up on X-rays yet. Depending on the angle or size they might only be able to be diagnosed visually. Specifically with occlusal."

"I don't know what that means but oh well. If it's not big enough to show up then it's not big enough to worry about."

"Occlusal means the biting surface, so it can be hiding among healthy tooth structure. The good news is if it is a cavity it's small and it's ideal that we catch it early..." Hunter trailed, wondering how he could get Sebastian to comply. "Less of you having to do what you're afraid of. Overall less seeing my face. Less having to be here. You know, a win-win."

"You make a compelling argument. But I know where you're going with this and my answer is no."

"You didn't even let me ask," Hunter pointed out.

"Listen, I'm just trying to save us an argument because you won't get me to agree to a visual exam. I know that's what you want," Sebastian said stubbornly.

"Okay. I can respect that but you have to at least tell me why you won't agree to it."

Sebastian shifted in the chair uncomfortably. "I let you take the X-ray. Can I go now?"

"Nope. No avoiding the question. That's not how this works. Just tell me, Seb. It's okay. That's part of this unspoken agreement. I'll only let you run if you're completely honest with me so I can work on helping you emotionally, even if you won't let me help in any other way. I need to understand," Hunter persuaded.

Hunter had a funny way of guilting Sebastian just enough to comply. Not in an uncomfortable way where he felt trapped, but more of a gentle push kind of way. Overall Sebastian respected and trusted Hunter enough to where it took some of his fight away. "Fuck. Why do you do this? Fucking how did I get here?"

Hunter knew that the frustration meant Sebastian was fighting with himself because he was about to comply. "You trust me Sebastian, and you're fighting it because it doesn't feel natural to you. You've been hurt and the only way to keep yourself safe is not to trust. You're angry because you don't want to resort back to that but it's like fighting instincts. It's okay. I understand and I'm not angry. One step at a time. Just tell me what you're afraid of."

Sebastian took a deep breath and tried to ignore how spot on that analysis was. "I don't want anyone in my mouth, alright? Period. It's uncomfortable and awkward and I'm just not ready for it. I haven't let anyone in a long time. I don't like the way it feels and I don't like being under anyone's scrutiny. Because I've never had a good appointment. Never had good news. Something is always wrong. It always makes me feel like shit. I don't wanna do it," he finally admitted with his head in his hands.

"You won't feel like shit. Because I'm not going to scold you and even if everything isn't perfect it's still progress and that alone is something to be proud of. No bad news. It isn't bad news. It's just finding out what I need to do to help you. Try to look at it as me just providing a service to help you. That's all. You don't go to the doctor and get yelled at for being sick, right? It's just their job and they do what they can to help. We're taking all of the shame and guilt out of this. As for physical triggers such as feelings or sounds, I can either talk you through everything one step at a time or I can let you listen to music and completely distract yourself from the situation. Pretend it's not happening and just trust me. Whatever you need to get through it." Hunter tried giving Sebastian options so he felt in control.

Hunter's doctor comparison helped. It took away a bit of the shame Sebastian was worried about. "Okay," is all he said at first. Sebastian thought for a second. "Which option would be better?"

"Hmm. Well, I do think the exposure therapy thing would help you in the long run. Instead of blocking it out just take the situation as it is and let me tear down everything that makes it scary. I think talking you through it would help more. So I can warn you if I want to check something and you'll know what to expect."

Sebastian really didn't like this idea but he trusted Hunter. "Okay."

"Okay?" Hunter said hopefully. "That's great. You're doing so well Sebastian. Let's start out really slow, okay. I'm going to lean the chair back but I'm not turning on the light or anything yet. You're going to lay there for a minute and get used to it. Can I do that?"

Sebastian nodded wordlessly. He was already sitting in the chair from when they did the X-ray. So he'd gotten used to it a little. But then Hunter started to lean it back and it felt scary again.

Hunter noticed Sebastian's anxiety. "It's okay. It's just like laying in bed. No lighting or anything yet. You're just going to lay there and look up at the ceiling. Or close your eyes if that helps. Just imagine you're taking a nap. I totally used to nap in these when I was in school and in between patients. They're comfy. I mean they better be for how expensive these chairs are. Like an expensive nap."

Hunter's chattiness was helping Sebastian feel a little better. This didn't feel clinical. "Expensive nap huh? I guess that's one way to put it."

"Are you okay Sebastian?"

Sebastian looked up at the specs on the ceiling, and then to the TV. "Does the TV work?"

"No I just have TVs plastered to the ceiling for the hell of it. For decoration. So people can ask me if they work and I can tell them it's just a discussion piece," Hunter said with a smartass smile on his face. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. "What do you wanna watch?"

"I don't know."

Hunter handed him the remote. "Here. Netflix is on there. Relax and find something you wouldn't hate watching."

Sebastian rolled his eyes and skimmed through the options. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 was on there so he turned that on.

Hunter smirked. "Baby Groot is a crowd pleaser. Instant happiness."

"Too bad he–"

"We don't talk about Infinity War. It didn't happen. We're just pretending it doesn't exist. Okay? Okay. Now moving on. You sit here and watch this and I'm going to wash my hands and get a few things. But I want you to focus on your breathing in the meantime. Long deep breaths." Hunter got up to scrub in and grab a tray.

Sebastian tried to relax but he couldn't help the rising panic in his chest. He was dreading the inevitable next step Hunter would ask him to do. It only took Hunter about 3 minutes to come back in with some things and to wash his hands. Sebastian truly tried to keep his breathing even but the anxiety when in situations like this was still strong.

Hunter sat down on the swivel stool and Sebastian instinctively started sweating.

"How are you feeling Sebastian?"

"Not great."

"That's just the anticipation. It's your brain making you feel afraid because you don't know what to expect. But I'm going to tell you right now and show you that it's okay. Bright light," Hunter warned before flipping on the light. He had it over Sebastian's chest for now. "It's just on so you can get used to it and it's less disorienting. This isn't too bad right?"

Guardians of the Galaxy slowly faded into background noise as Sebastian zoned into his anxiety more. "I guess not. I just don't like this. Can you tell me what you want to do?"

"Of course. I'm just going to take a tiny mirror and look around. I'm going to have the explorer too and that's just to tap on some areas I want to check, and I know enough not to hurt you while doing this. At all. No pain. If there are any obvious issues I won't touch it. I want to check the tooth you talked about and I might scrpe at it a tiny bit but I promise if the cavity is tiny, which it would be if there is one because it didn't show up on the X-ray, the explorer will just get caught and make a little clink noise– if that makes sense. You'll feel it but it won't hurt you. If at any point it's too much or you need a break, anything, just raise your hand and I'll stop. No questiones asked," Hunter explained in detail.

"Okay," Sebastian said slowly. "That's it?"

"That's it. With your permission, I might check a few fillings too, by blowing air and stuff. Which might sting a tiny bit, but I'll warn you and it goes away quickly. You're in total control." Sebastian seemed okay for now so Hunter leaned the chair back a little more and then moved the light over his mouth.

Sebastian swore inwardly and turned away. "Can I have a minute? To get used to this?"

"That's fine. Just take your time." Hunter gave Sebastian a minute to relax before he spoke again. "Seb I think you're just working yourself up here. How about you let me start with just that one tooth? I won't even use the explorer yet. Just a mirror. So I can look."

Sebastian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay. Fine."

"You're doing so well Sebastian. Just look at the TV alright?" Hunter pulled the mask over his face and picked up the mirror.

Sebastian felt his stomach turn at the clink of the tools. He was dreading when Hunter asked him to open his mouth. He didn't want to hear the words. He didn't want to do this.

"Are you ready Seb?" is all Hunter said.

"I don't know," Sebastian replied in a small voice.

"You're safe. It's okay. Just a mirror. See?" Hunter showed Sebastian the mirror that was in his hand. "Do you want to hold it?"

"No that's stupid. I know what a mirror on a stick looks like."

"Okay. Just trying to help. Are you okay with that being in your mouth?" Hunter asked.

"It's your eyes I'm not okay with being in my mouth."

"Well... I do have to see what I'm doing. I don't think closing my eyes and just hoping for the best would be a plausible way to go about this."

"That's not what I meant," Sebastian groaned.

"I'm aware. You don't want me looking. But I kinda have to. You can do this Seb. It's really easy. Can you open for me? When you feel ready?"

Sebastian laid there in a silent panic. He couldn't find his voice to speak. He just shook his head.

Hunter calmly put down the mirror in his hand. "That's okay. You're not ready yet. Take some deep breaths. You're thinking about it too much. I really want to show you that you're overthinking it but I won't push you. We can stop if you really want to. But you've come so far already. How about I just look at the one tooth with my mirror for a quick second and then you can close your mouth? The first step is the hardest."

Sebastian swallowed hard and nodded again. He felt a little better. He could deal with a second. "Okay. Okay. I'm okay. Just a second? You'll let me close my mouth once you've looked at it?"

"I promise. Just a mirror there for a second."

The anxiety was making Sebastian dizzy and he wanted to run, but after all this, he wasn't going to waste it and run away. He was determined at this point. "I'm tired of the fear always winning."

"It's not winning. You're in control. You're here and you're about to take the first step. You just have to open your mouth for a second. Just close your eyes and do it. Then the first step will be done. Do you know what I mean? You're too in your head about this when it's so simple."

Sebastian shut his eyes and took another deep breath. He felt sick with anxiety and he was sweating like crazy but he couldn't let himself think about it. He just opened his mouth and kept his eyes squeezed shut to distance himself from the choice he just made.

"See how easy that was? Sebastian, you make yourself sick with worry over nothing. You're safe. Just give me a second."

Sebastian still kept his eyes shut. He could feel the presence of something in his mouth but that was it.

Hunter looked at #18 for a second but still couldn't see anything in detail, especially because he didn't have his loupes on. He was only looking with his eyes. "Sebastian you're doing so good. Can I check it really really gently with the explorer just for a second? If this is a cavity it's small and we caught it really early. That's good."

Sebastian just nodded to get it over with. He heard the clink of Hunter picking up a tool. Against his better judgment, he opened his eyes, feeling a little skittish now but still not closing his mouth. He saw two tools sticking out of his mouth and almost started to panic but it was over so fast. Hunter scraped at his tooth just a little, and at first it didn't seem like the explorer was getting caught on anything and Sebastian started to flood with relief. Maybe this was in his head and nothing was wrong after all. But a second later he felt the familiar sensation of the explorer getting caught, and it made a soft clinking noise confirming his worries. Sebastian winched a little, not because it hurt but because he hated what the feeling stood for. Hunter didn't even have to tell him, he knew. He remembered the feeling. It didn't hurt and hardly felt uncomfortable but it was there and he felt it. It was real.

"Okay," is all Hunter said and then he took the tools out of Sebastian's mouth and let him close. "Are you okay? Did that hurt? You made a face."

Sebastian just shook his head. "It was fine. It didn't hurt. I just thought for a second that you weren't going to find anything," he said in a small voice. "I knew something was there."

"It's okay Sebastian. It's so so so small. I couldn't even see it at first but there was a little soft spot. Like I said earlier, no shame. It's not embarrassing." Hunter struggled to find another good comparison that would make Sebastian feel better. "Just like something that your body did and now it needs to be healed."

"But it won't heal. Teeth don't heal."

"Well... what I do is close enough. I just want you to think of it as something you didn't have any control over. It just happened. Let me tell you, that cavity is so tiny that I can fix it with air abrasion. No drills or anything. Just this tiny tool that blows the decay away and then I'll put some composite there that matches your tooth perfectly and you'll never even know it was there. That tooth has pretty much grown in completely now so it won't be hard to clean it from here on out. Everything will be fine," Hunter explained coolly. "Really this doesn't even have to count as a filling. If you can't tell it's there is it really there?" he smirked.

"Wait really? It can be that easy? No needles? That doesn't sound right. It's never that easy," Sebastian argued. "I can't be that lucky after all this time."

"No I'm telling the truth. Technology nowadays is so great. You guys now have it so much easier than I did growing up, and than our parent's generation did. I could go on about it all day, but I promise I wouldn't lie to you about that," Hunter reassured.

"What does it feel like? Are you sure it doesn't sting or hurt?"

Hunter thought for a moment. "I've heard really good things. I know it can feel cold because it is just essentially really compressed air so it just feels like air blowing on your tooth. I've heard it can be a little sensitive but the procedure itself is so fast the I've never heard any complaints. Your cavity is so small and far away from the nerve of the tooth that I don't think you'll have any issues. This would be a really good option for you. No needles no drills. Just air and then I'll put in some tooth-colored filling." Hunter searched Sebastian's face for any sign that this information was freaking him out. Aside from making a grimace at the word cavity Sebastian seemed calmed.

"You heard it can be sensitive? What does that mean?" Sebastian asked, furrowing his brows.

"I mean no two people are the same. Some people can bite into ice cream, some people think it hurts like hell so they don't. Neither of them necessarily have an issue. Teeth are just weird and everyone feels things differently. I've been utilizing this technology for as long as I've been practicing and I've never heard anyone say it hurts. When I blow the compressed air at your tooth it's cold and some people think that's a little uncomfortable or they might experience minor sensitivity for a few seconds. But that's with deeper fillings than this, and like I said yours is really small. I'm confident you will be comfortable," Hunter explained thoroughly. But expectedly Sebastian was reluctant which Hunter saw coming.

"I feel like I'm missing something here. It can't be this easy. Drilling into teeth without numbing stuff hurts. I don't understand how this gets rid of whatever it needs to get rid of without causing pain."

"Sebastian," Hunter said sternly yet calmly, "accept the good news and stop looking for something bad to get hung up on. It really is that easy, there's no punchline." Hunter lowered his mask since the explanation was taking longer than expected. But he didn't want Sebastian to get up just yet since it took so much effort to get him here. Hunter continued on with his explanation. "This isn't the drill and that's why it can be done without anesthetic. It's a different tool. A high speed can rotate up to 500,000 revolutions per minute and that friction causes heat, uncomfortable vibrations, and micro-fractures in the tooth. Now with deep fillings, it has to be used and that's why dental anesthetic exists, okay? To make sure the patient is comfortable and experiences no pain. But like I said this tool just blows compressed air so there's none of that high-speed rotation. Unhealthy tooth structure is soft so with the compressed air it can essentially be blown away without harming the healthy tooth structure. This tool targets the soft stuff but isn't powerful enough to go through hard tooth structure that's healthy," Hunter explained in great detail. "Do you understand now Sebastian? It doesn't hurt because compressed air feels different than high-speed rotation."

Sebastian blinked a few times. "That's a lot."

"Yes. Well I wanted you to understand. Do you feel any better about it now?" Hunter asked.

"I think so," Sebastian muttered. He'd been sitting in this chair for far too long though and was started to get antsy. "Can we wrap this up? I'm ready to go. I've had enough of your face for today. I can't believe you got me to do this much."

But Hunter wasn't satisfied just yet. "You let me look at one tooth," he pointed out.

"That's all you wanted!" Sebastian argued.

"That's all I wanted for a first step, which was great but this dynamic works so well because I'm not too easy on you," Hunter smirked. He pulled the mask back over his face and picked up two tools again. "Open up again for me Sebastian."

Sebastian's face screwed up. "What? No. The fuck do I look like. You said one tooth. I don't even know what you're trying to do."

Hunter had to bite back a laugh. Sebastian was mostly relaxed, he wasn't panicking, this was just stubbornness. "Started out with one tooth," Hunter said again. "Started. That's the important word. Besides I have a mirror and explorer in my hand, what do you think I'm gonna do? It's not like I would want to carry on with the exam I started or anything, no that would be absolutely barbaric," Hunter said slowly, narrowing his eyes at Sebastian. "May I continue Sebastian?"

Sebastian glared at Hunter in annoyance before opening his mouth again. He moved the headphones to cover one ear again since he'd taken them off while they were talking. Hunter went in again with the tools are started looking around. Sebastian could feel him poking around but tried not to worry too much because he knew Hunter wouldn't hurt him.

"Sebastian you've clearly got really good hygiene. I guess a phobia will force you to do that huh? Are you flossing?"

Sebastian rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Truly though? You're not just busting my balls are you?" Hunter laughed at himself as he continued with the exam. "I kid. I can tell you do. Which is great. Literally none of your classmates do. Well maybe Wes but nobody else."

Hunter had been blowing air periodically throughout the exam to dry off surfaces he was checking so Sebastian was used to it by now. It felt a little uncomfortable but he was distracting himself with the TV and letting Hunter do his thing. That was until Hunter blew air on one filling in particular and Sebastian visibly cringed. He freaked out a little and started to raise his hand but before he could even do so fully Hunter was already retracting his tools.

"I'm sorry Sebastian. I didn't know that would hurt you. I was just trying to dry off the tooth so I could get a better look. Are you okay? If I knew it was sensitive I wouldn't have done that."

Sebastian nodded shallowly, his heart still pounding from the minor freak out. The tooth Hunter blew air on was still aching angrily.

"So that one was pretty sensitive?" Hunter inquired.

"No I just cringe because I had nothing better to do," Sebastian said with obvious sarcasm.

Hunter could sense there was a bitterness behind that statement. He scared Sebastian and he was deflecting it with anger again. "I'm really sorry Sebastian. I didn't mean to startle you," he said again. "Do you have a filling there? I didn't get a good look."

Sebastian nodded slowly.

"Okay. I'll be more careful now that I know. It is alright if I take a look at it?" Hunter asked gently.

But Sebastian was reluctant this time. "I want to leave."

"I know but you're almost done. Just let me finish this and I'll let you leave for the day. Please? I promise I won't make you do anything else," Hunter coaxed.

"Can you just use the mirror this time?" Sebastian asked. He was feeling apprehensive again. "No air, no hook on a stick."

"Hook on a stick," Hunter echoed in amusement. "But no that's fine. I can agree with that. I'm going to put on some magnification glasses so I can see a little better." Hunter grabbed his loupes out of a drawer and put them on.

Sebastian didn't like the way Hunter looked all geared up. It felt weird seeing someone he'd mostly grown to trust as a person in dentist mode. He shivered inwardly and started panicking a little as he took it all in. Something about Hunter barely looking like himself was a trigger.

"What's wrong Sebastian?" Hunter asked, noticing his breathing picked up.

Sebastian just shook his head and didn't say anything.

Hunter paused what he was doing. "No. No silent panicking. If you're freaking out about something you have to tell me why so I can avoid doing it."

Sebastian blinked a few times. "It's stupid."

"Don't care."

Sebastian sighed. "You look like a dentist and it's freaking me out."

"Well– okay. I understand. So here's what we're gonna do. I know you're nervous because of the air thing that happened but you have my word I'm just using my mirror now. I promise. So I want you to close your eyes and relax. I'm not like them. You can trust me. I know you probably want to watch me closely after what happened but that's freaking you out. So shut your eyes," Hunter reasoned coolly.

Sebastian nodded and closed his eyes. He kept reminding himself that he was safe.

"Good. You're okay. Can you open for me Seb?"

Sebastian opened a little bit but he was clearly more skittish this go around.

"Little wider Sebastian. It's okay, I'm just going in with my mirror. You're not going to feel me doing anything to your tooth."

Sebastian took another shallow breath and opened the rest of the way. He could feel Hunter hovering but he kept to his word and didn't touch anything.

Hunter took a good look at the tooth that was so sensitive to air. Under the magnification, he could actually see where the filling began and where real tooth started, though the color difference was subtle because it was a composite. The filling was pretty large and he couldn't tell without an X-ray how deep it was, but if his suspicions were correct it was pretty close to the nerve of the tooth. He was hoping to see a crack in the filling or something to explain the sensitivity but there was nothing he could see visually wrong with the filling. That meant the issue was underneath the filling which wasn't good, especially considering this level of sensitivity wasn't normal. He had a bad feeling about what this was going to led to. He retracted the mirror. "Good Sebastian. I'm not going to mess with that one anymore."

"It still hurts," Sebastian said, opening his eyes to look at Hunter in worry. "You pissed it off."

Hunter hid his concerns with an amused smile. "Pissed it off? The tooth must have your attitude then. Does the pain usually linger when you irritate that tooth?"

"Yeah," Sebastian said. "I didn't think to mention it because it's always been kind of sensitive since I got the filling. It can't be a cavity or anything because it's already been fixed," Sebastian reasoned.

Hunter was trying so hard not to convey any worried facial expressions. "Alright. Well I won't mess with that one anymore. I have a few things I want to check but before I finish are there any other really sensitive areas like that I need to be careful around?"

"Not that I know of."

"Okay. Can I go back in with the explorer to wrap up the rest of the exam? If I promise not to touch that one filling. I'll be really careful."

"You already looked," Sebastian argued stubbornly.

"Yes but not at everything. I need to make sure there are no other issues, Seb. I want to do a thorough job so you get the best care possible. Is that okay with you?" Hunter asked sassily.

Sebastian huffed. "I can't stand you."

"Uh-huh, I'm the asshole for trying to do my job well. Can you open your mouth now sassy so I can continue to make an ass of myself?" Hunter asked, raising one brow in question.

Sebastian reluctantly opened his mouth again with an eye roll. He was worried and he kept glancing at Hunter but nothing else eventful happened. Nothing else hurt.

Hunter didn't find anything else, thankfully for Sebastian's sake. "Sebastian everything else looks really good. You did so well. You're free," he said turning off the light and moving the chair back up. He convinced Sebastian to let him take a few more X-rays before he got out of the chair.

"Wait, Sebastian, before you go let's talk a little bit about your next appointment. I just need 5 more minutes. Do you want to go back to my personal office? To get out of the exam room you hate."

"No more talking. I'm fried and I really want to leave."

Hunter swore inwardly. "Fine. But Sebastian I really need you to email me with a date that works for you, for the next appointment. I just want to do a quick cleaning and maybe that tiny filling with the air abrasion since it's so quick and easy. That's all. It'll be really easy."

"I'll email you," Sebastian said, not wasting any time getting out of there.

"You better not stand me up, Sebastian!" Hunter warned as he left, but honestly, at this point he expected nothing less. He had Sebastian's student email and just planned on telling him when to come in. Hunter cleaned up the exam room and sent the tools off to be sterilized. With that, he finished for the day and went home.

No shocker here but Sebastian didn't get back to him. Hunter waited a week but no email came. So Hunter sent an email to him.

'Subject: Appointment Reminder

Your appointment is set for Tuesday, September 18th at 4:30 pm. I checked and you don't have Warbler's practice that day so don't try to pull one over on me. Don't sit in your room with your thumbs up your ass either. You're close enough to being an adult, I shouldn't have to come retrieve you. Don't forget to bring your big boy pants and a smile.

PS. Actually, if you just show up I'll be thrilled. Big boy pants and a smile are optional.

PSS. You should actually show up unless you want to explain to your roommate why you have the campus dentist dragging you out of your dorm by your ear.

Sincerely,

Your favorite stalker'

Hunter sent the email with high hopes it was just threatening enough to make Sebastian show up. But when he checked his email later that night he had a reply.

're: Appointment Reminder

Not coming.

Sincerely,

Eat shit'

Hunter sighed deeply. "So much for handling this like an adult."

On the day of Sebastian's appointment, Hunter had no choice but to go retrieve him for the sake of time. He banged on the door or his dorm a few times. "You know we would have saved a lot of time if you took my advice and put on your big boy pants," he shouted. "Come out Sebastian!"

"I'm already out Hunter, haven't you heard? I love dick!" he heard from behind the door.

Hunter huffed in annoyance. He didn't feel like wasting any more time. "That's fine. Don't take me seriously. I'll just raise my voice a little more and LET ALL YOUR NEIGHBORS KNOW YOU'RE AFRAID OF THE DE–" that got Sebastian to open the door faster than The Flash. Hunter smiled a cocky and self-satisfied smirk. "Yeah. That's what I thought. Can we leave now?"

Sebastian crossed his arms but Hunter could see the underlying anxiety behind the movement. "I have homework to do," he excused lamely.

"This appointment will take an hour and a half at most, you'll still have more than enough time to do your homework after."

Hunter noticed Sebastian start to tremble as tried to think of another excuse. "Yeah but after this fucks me up I won't be able to focus on anything, and I won't be able to get my homework done because I won't be able to think," the younger said frantically. He shoved his hands in his pocket. "Please, Hunter."

Hunter's brows furrowed in concern. "This isn't going to fuck you up emotionally or physically. You're going to be fine. I showed you last time Sebastian," Hunter reasoned. "Everything today is easy stuff. I promise."

Sebastian shook his head. "I don't want to."

"Tough luck," Hunter said before realizing that was probably a little too harsh considering Sebastian's current state. "Look, nobody likes doing this. You're not alone in that sense. But you've got nothing to be afraid of. This is just a mild inconvenience. However, I would suggest coming with me before my looming presence in your doorway starts to raise some questions."

Sebastian swore inwardly. "I hate it when you make sense," he complained, stepping out and shutting the door.

"You should probably get used to it since I seem to be the only voice of reason you have when it comes to this stuff." They walked in silence to Hunter's office, Sebastian choosing to keep his distance. He seemed particularly edgy today.

"However will I comfort the poor angsty teenager I have under my care? Should I throw Cheetos at you until you feel better?"

Sebastian didn't reply to Hunter's stupid joke but followed him into the office nevertheless.

Hunter looked over Sebastian carefully. "Talk to me Seb. What's wrong?" he asked, holding open the door for him.

Sebastian walked into the office unhappily. "Well in case you haven't noticed I would rather be literally anywhere else."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "I would never have guessed." He gestured for Sebastian to follow him into the back office.

Sebastian started to get cold feet again once he caught sight of the chair. "Well fuck me," he swore, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "I feel dizzy."

"You're alright Sebastian. Go ahead and take a seat and I'll get you some water. Then we'll talk and you can ask me any questions you have. Sound good?"

"Sounds... tolerable."

"That's what we're aiming for."

Sebastian sat down carefully, quickly wrapping his arms around himself uneasily. He accepted the water Hunter handed him and drank some. "Well start talking teeth boy."

Hunter made a face of amusement at the nickname. "Well the hardest thing we're doing today, and I use the word hardest lightly because it really isn't, is the air abrasion. I told you what it's like last time. Just air and then I'll put some white filling in your tooth. Honestly, I think you might find the cleaning more uncomfortable. I mean not that it's bad but I know you're skittish and you might not like it."

Sebastian frowned. "Oh great. Fuel my anxiety."

"I'm not trying to. I'll be gentle and you'll be fine. I just want you to be prepared for the fact you probably won't like it, but it's nothing you won't be able to handle."

"I think you're overestimating what I can handle," Sebastian said. He watched as Hunter washed his hands and started to scrub in. "I thought we were talking," he protested.

"We're still talking. You just talked, I'm replying. We've got a line of dialogue going here. What's the problem?"

"You're washing your hands because you wanna mess around with my face hole next," Sebastian reasoned.

"You don't know my life," Hunter retorted. "But you're right."

Sebastian grimaced. "I don't like this Hunter."

"You already don't like this and I haven't started yet?" Hunter asked with a raised brow.

"Correct."

Hunter sat down on the swivel stool while he slipped on gloves. "Sounds like we're off to a great start." He flipped on the TV for Sebastian like last time and resumed the movie. "Here. Distract your brain with this and stop paying attention to me."

"How can I not pay attention to you?" Sebastian squeaked. "You're all up in my business."

"Well... not yet technically." Hunter lowered the chair and Sebastian's started to tremble.

"This is shit. Hunter, I don't like this. I can't calm down. I'm starting to panic."

"Don't panic, no not yet," Hunter singsonged but then he put on a serious face. "Alright let's see what I can do to help you relax before we start. Do you want me to call in an assistant to hold your hand?"

"The fuck do I look like?" Sebastian dismissed. "I don't need someone to hold my hand."

"Well you probably don't want me to answer that question because from where I'm sitting you're not all that put together. Do you want drugs Sebastian? I can put you on a low level of happy gas to help you relax a little."

Sebastian felt stupid. It would be embarrassing to need something to get through something as simple as this. "No, I don't need it."

Hunter hummed in thought. "How about you let me start and raise your hand if you need a break? Like I said, I'm really gentle. I'm not going to hurt you."

"What are you going to start with?" Sebastian worried.

Hunter pulled the mask over his face and uncovered the tray of tools. He had to think of a way to word this without scaring Sebastian. "I'm going to gently scrape the calculus off of your teeth. It's going to take a little time and it might feel uncomfortable but that's what the TV mounted to the ceiling is for. You're going to pay attention to that and not what I'm doing."

Sebastian sighed shakily. He didn't like the way that sounded. "Are you sure we can't just like... skip that part?"

"Afraid not. Especially after being on the run for at least as long as you've been going to Dalton. It's not good for that stuff to sit there for a long time, I'll spare you the boring details but just trust me. This is the important part. What makes your teeth feel clean and look nice is getting the stained calculus off," Hunter explained like he would with any other patient.

Sebastian frowned. "Got it," he said reluctantly.

Hunter looked at Sebastian apologetically. "Soooo you think we can start?"

"There's no we in this. You're the one doing the work. I'm just laying here."

"Well it is your mouth involved. But you look like you're keeping it together pretty will Sebastian. You can do this. It's easy. Go ahead and open up for me," Hunter requested gently.

Sebastian hesitated for a second. "If I get scared and can't handle it you'll stop right?"

"Without a doubt. You're safe with me. Just raise your hand and I'll stop. But now can you try to do this for me?"

It was truly incredible how different Hunter was while working with a patient. His persona completely changed into this gentle and caring person that had a naturally calming aura. Sebastian was anxiety-ridden but he knew by now Hunter was trustworthy. So he finally opened his mouth.

"Good Sebastian. Now just watch the TV while I work. This is easier than you think."

Turns out it wasn't all that easy. Maybe for a normal person, it would have just been a mild nuisance but it was harder to get through for Sebastian. His anxiety seemed to amplify every little move Hunter made with the tool and even though he was being ever so gentle this was considerably stressful for the teenager in his chair.

The whirling of the ultrasonic scaler was very unsettling and Sebastian silently wondered when they switched the old fashioned metal scaler for this scary vibrating hell device. It seemed to be getting the job done faster but the water was uncomfortably cold, almost painfully cold. Sebastian really was trying to power through this but he honestly couldn't understand how anyone could sit here and take this without getting freaked out.

After a while, Hunter noticed Sebastian steadily grow more restless. "Seb do you need a break?" Hunter paused and asked since Sebastian was starting to become especially jumpy.

"Yeah that would be good. I don't feel well," Sebastian chocked out. He felt like a giant baby for letting this get to him.

"Talk to me, what's wrong?"

"It's just not easy for me to be at the receiving end of this. There's no moment for me where I relax and realize it's not that bad because it all sucks. It's freaking me out and I swear I'm not trying to be difficult but I feel like I'm about to lose my shit."

"That's okay. That's why we're taking a break. You'll be okay. Do you want anything to calm your nerves? Because I've got the nitrous right here, I suspected you might need it. Honestly, this takes some time to get used to and your fear might be amplifying the discomfort. I can only help you calm down so much so if you want to try letting this stuff help you calm down then that might make this easier for the both of us," Hunter suggested. "But if not that's okay. I am willing to work with you and go about this however you feel comfortable."

Sebastian felt conflicted because he wanted to be able to do this himself but felt guilty for being such a difficult patient in his current state. "I take it leaving isn't an option huh?"

"I mean I won't stop you but I'll judge you really hard for it."

Sebastian sighed deeply, realizing he would have to continue with this eventually. "It's not a cop-out?" he wondered aloud.

Hunter rolled his eyes at the question. "A cop-out? What me giving you some gas that's going to help you relax and stop fidgeting and sweating so much? Yeah definitely. Total cop-out."

"Okay, it was a stupid question. I guess if you think it'll make things easier then my answer is yes," Sebastian answered finally.

Hunter spoke as he readied the canister. "The notion that helping yourself relax is a cop-out is honestly laughable to me. There's nothing shameful about needing a little extra help. People love this stuff. Free high."

"Free high," Sebastian echoed.

"Uh, yeeeaaah. You're a teenager, and this is better than any green stuff you may or may not choose to mess around with when you're older. But that's none of my business. Just understand, this will help." Hunter placed the mask over Sebastian's nose.

"You say that like you know what you're talking about," Sebastian joked.

Hunter raised a brow. "I might. But that wouldn't be any of your business now would it?"

"Just like what I do in my free time isn't any of yooouuuuurrs. Okay, I might be high. I think this stuff is working."

Hunter hummed. "I feel like the rest of this will proceed easily. How you feeling Sebastian?" he smirked.

"Interesting…"

"That's better than any answer you've ever given me." Hunter picked up his tools once again and readjusted the light. "Time to continue. Let's see those big boy pants, Sebastian."

Sebastian opened his mouth again without a sassy comeback or anything, and Hunter was almost disappointed. "This tickles me to death. Truly. Nitrous was not the anesthetic we wanted but it sure was the drug we needed. Did you know at first they tried to use that stuff you're inhaling in place of, well what's now, lidocaine? And it does help to dull pain, but it's not the same as an anesthetic, obviously. Well, maybe not obvious to you but obvious to me."

The young warbler wasn't as bothered by the ultrasonic scaler anymore. He was so tired and out of it that he just shut his eyes and ignored what Hunter was doing. There was a small hopeful thought that made its way to the surface, however: "Maybe this can be easy."

Hunter finished this part of the cleaning rather quickly and effetely now that Sebastian was so relaxed. "You're doing so good Sebastian. I'm done with this part, just got a little left to get with the regular scaler."

"It's the happy gas for sure," Sebastian responded.

"Probably but you're still here and allowing me to do this, and it took me quite a few years to convince you. So I'd say this is progress for sure. Alright, open up again," Hunter requested.

Shockingly, it wasn't that bad. Sebastian hardly noticed the scraping. He never thought it would be this easy. He was finally starting to realize this could be tolerable, and maybe all of this fight wasn't necessary. He trusted Hunter and that didn't take away all of the fear, but it gave Sebastian hope where there wasn't any before.

"Okay, I'm done with this part. There was a little bleeding in some areas but that's expected. I'm going to polish your teeth now, and it's going to sound like the drill because it's on the same device but it has a different head. So don't let that surprise you. But with how you're doing I don't think you care too much."

"Not really."

"That's fair. Open again." Hunter contained with the cleaning with no protests from Sebastian. "You're actually an ideal patient right now, ya know?" Hunter said when he finished.

"It's because I'm high."

"And I'll accept that. Okay the last thing before the air abrasion, I'm going to floss your teeth really quick to get the rest of the polish out." Hunter wrapped the floss around his fingers and got to work.

Sebastian again wasn't bothered, because he did this himself every night and sure it felt weird to have someone else doing it but it wasn't worth getting upset over.

"Oops, I lied there's one more thing I'm going to do. I'm going to set you up a little, it's just a fluoride treatment I usually do. A tray is going to sit in your mouth for a minute while I grab the supplies I need." Hunter filled two trays up with fluoride and then asked Sebastian to open his mouth.

Sebastian made a face of dismay at the taste.

"Yeah I know. You'll live. I'll be back. Keep being calm while I'm gone."

Sebastian gave Hunter a sarcastic thumbs-up as he left the room. He sat there staring at the TV where Guardians Of the Galaxy 2 was still playing. Waiting there laying in the chair felt different than it ever had. He didn't have anything to worry about. This was a shallow filling with a device that wasn't the drill. Sebastian reminded himself it was just air like Hunter said. From there he officially settled any worries in his mind and just watched the movie.

Hunter came back in with what he needed a few minutes later. "Still not worried like the champ you are right Seb?"

"I'm highly intoxicated but I'm also not a toddler," Sebastian replied after the fluoride tray was taken out of his mouth and most of the fluoride was sucked out.

"Good to know you're still a sasshole, but for the record words of encouragement aren't me trying to treat you like a toddler. Praise isn't belittlement. Maybe you don't understand that because you didn't get it from any other adult in your life but you're just gonna have to deal with the fact I care about you," Hunter spoke as he readied the equipment he needed.

"That got a little too deep there buddy. For a second I almost felt bad for myself."

"No, but off the record, it's pretty fucking sad that I have to be the adult to tell you that. You're a good kid Sebastian. An ideal teenager. Your parents should be incredibly grateful to have you as their son."

Sebastian's heart sank a little. "But they aren't, and I've accepted the fact I don't get to have that."

Hunter had great parents that gave him every ounce of love and support he could've ever ask for, and that statement comply broke his heart. "Well. I can't replace a parent and I know that. But if you should ever need parently support or advice, I'll give you the support my incredible parents gave me."

Sebastian ignored that Hunter's eyes were watery, but he was tearing up. "You already have," is all Sebastian said. "End of the chick-flick moment. Don't you have a tooth to fix or something?"

"Hell's frozen over."

"Well yeah, I'm in your chair aren't I?"

Hunter laughed to himself and readjusted the light and reclined the chair a little. "Is all of the fluoride out of your mouth or do you need to suck on this some more?" He held up the suction tool.

"I think its all out now but I don't see why you didn't just spray it off with water."

"That would defeat the purpose of a fluoride treatment because I would be spraying it off. This is why I'm the dentist and you aren't. Any other questions?"

"Just an invitation to go fuck yourself."

"Well, I can't do that because as you so kindly reminded me, I have a tooth to fix. Ready when you are, Sebby boy," Hunter said as he moved the mask to cover his face again.

"If you ever call me that again I'll bite one of your fingers off."

"Yeah and then who'd fix your face?"

"It's funny that you think I care."

"You're right. You don't have a track record of caring. Thankfully I'm here to give a shit about the condition of your face. Speaking of which, you can open now."

Sebastian rolled his eyes but opened his mouth.

Hunter stuck a cotton roll in Sebastian's cheek to isolate the tooth and readied the air abrasion tool. "This is going to be the easiest filling you've ever had Sebastian." He started to clear out the tiny bit of decay with the tool.

From Sebastian's perspective it truly just felt like Hunter was blowing air on his tooth. He was right, it didn't hurt. It was a little bit cold and almost uncomfortable, but nothing worse than the ultrasonic scaler from earlier. Sebastian kept waiting for it to hurt, but nothing happened. It just felt like cold air.

"And I'm done. Now I'm filling the tiny hole. What did I tell you?'

Sebastian couldn't respond for obvious reasons but Hunter was right. The filling was over so quickly and at no point was he scared.

"That was so easy. I probably didn't even need the gas for that part. So what's the punchline?" Sebastian said when they were finally done.

"I'm very proud of you Sebastian." Hunter flushed his system with oxygen and sat the chair up. "However I do need to talk to you about one more thing before you go."

"Why?" Sebastian asked coldly. "What else could there be to talk about? Hunter don't tell me there really is a punchline and I'm not done with this shit."

Hunter sighed. "Sebastian you have to know that the sensitivity on that tooth with the big filling that bothered you last time isn't normal. Fillings shouldn't have that level of sensitivity, especially from just blowing air on it. I'm sure it bothers you when you eat anything hard or cold or hot. It's causing you pain and I know that."

"No. I already got that tooth fixed. I remember getting the filling and it's supposed to be fine. That's normal. I'm used to it," Sebastian said quickly.

"Please don't do that. It's okay. You were fine today and you'll be fine when I fix that tooth," Hunter reassured.

"You don't understand."

"Then make me understand. What's the issue? Why would this be different from today?" Hunter asked.

Sebastian was starting to get red in the face and Hunter could see the anger rising in the younger. "Don't pretend I'm stupid. You know it's different. You can't just make that one better with some air. It will involve needles and drills and I'm not fucking stupid! I'm not doing it again. I'll deal with the sensitivity. I'm leaving now."

Hunter sighed deeply as Sebastian got up, "I don't think you're stupid Sebastian. Maybe I just had a little more hope that after today you'd have more trust in me."

Sebastian didn't say anything else as he walked out. This wasn't how Hunter wanted the appointment to end at all but he understood Sebastian's behavior at this point. He didn't take it personally. He accepted that he helped Sebastian how he could for now and the rest would fall into place.


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't You Know the Kids Aren't Alright?**  
**or**  
**The Ugly Yellow Toothbrush  
**

* * *

Sebastian was in Warbler's practice a few weeks later, and the truth was he wasn't feeling his best. That morning when he woke up his tooth was really sore and it hurt to move his jaw. He could barely talk, and he definitely couldn't sing. He wasn't sure how long he could keep this up for. Something was definitely wrong.

Wes stopped practice and got Sebastian's attention. "Sebastian! What's the deal? You're barely moving your mouth. Are you asleep over there?" he chastised, the other Warblers giggled.

Sebastian clenched his jaw best he could. "I'm not feeling well," he tried to say.

"Mmhmm," Wes studied him. "Is there something else wrong Warbler Sebastian?"

Sebastian shook his head nervously.

"Okay. I'll let you leave early today but I expect you back to your best tomorrow. Got it?" The Warbler leader said.

Sebastian bit out a, "got it," before scurrying out of the room and back to his dorm. As soon as he reached his items he took a few ibuprofen (as if that would fix this). His jaw had been aching all day. Sebastian had never had a toothache hurt this bad. This was a different kind of pain. It was almost unbearable. What was he supposed to do?

The obvious answer was shoot Hunter a 'you were right, I need help' text. Surely not. But what else was there to do. Was this the pain of a tooth dying that Hunter warned him about so many years ago? Sebastian's stomach dropped in the horrible realization of what would happen next. Hell, this was enough of an emergency. He could just walk to Hunter's office and he'd know what to do.

But the panic took the reigns. Sebastian knew what this meant. His happy experience last time didn't mean anything because this aching wasn't a happy feeling. This was bad. Root canal bad. Shit. No. How'd he let this happen?

And just like that, it was like all of the air was sucked out of the room. Sebastian couldn't find his breath. Why couldn't it just be easy? Even if he did the right thing it was too late now and this was just too unbearable to face. Impossible even. This was BAD.

Sebastian couldn't think or breath between the pain radiating in his face and the panic taking over his body like a parasite. Somewhere in the state of panic punching a nice hole in the wall made perfect sense, and that's how Sebastian found himself pressed against the wall crying– nursing his now broken hand.

And somehow bad went to WORSE.

At that point, Sebastian decided he was in over his head and needed help regardless of what he wanted now. He texted Hunter.

{I say this regretfully, but I kinda have a 911. Not sure if you're working but the second you see this I need you at my dorm please}

Sebastian was actually relieved when he got a text back from Hunter less than a minute later. {Remain calm. On my way}

The teenager pitifully unlocked the door to his dorm and returned to his spot on the floor in the corner of his room. A few more minutes passed before Sebastian heard approaching foot sets and then a gentle knock at the door before it was pressed open.

"Sebastian?" Hunter asked tentatively. "What ha–" then he saw the wall. "Ohh. I see. Well, that's not good."

Sebastian gave Hunter a no duh look as he cradled his injured hand. Hunter approached slowly and held his hand out. "Can I see? I'm gonna bet we should probably pay Blaine a visit but let me get an idea of how bad it is."

Sebastian nodded and winced as he tried to unfold his hand. Hunter nodded. "Yep. Let's go see Blaine," Hunter said, hauling Sebastian off the floor by his good arm.

"So Sebastian what made you wanna punch a wall? Bad day?" Hunter wondered.

Sebastian tried to talk best he could. "Don't wanna talk about it," he bit out.

Hunter's face softened in understanding when he saw the way Sebastian was talking. This was really not good.

"C'mon kid, let's get you fixed up," Hunter said, squeezing Sebastian's shoulders.

Sebastian could cry. Not just from the pain– because yeah that totally hurt and all, but it was weird having a parental figure he kinda almost trusted. Someone he wanted when he was hurt. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Hunter had assumed that role.

Hunter called in advance to make sure Blaine had a room prepped for Sebastian.

"Is it bad Hunter?" Sebastian asked worriedly.

"Not to freak you out, but it doesn't look like a minor injury to me. You've got a few broken bones in your hand at the least. But the good news is you'll get some pain and anxiety medicine once we get there," Hunter explained cooly.

"That's a relief," Sebastian said. "I'm really not feeling too hot."

"I bet you aren't," Hunter guessed.

Blaine met Hunter and Sebastian at the door. "Hi Sebastian, Hunter. Let's get you inside," he greeted.

Sebastian waved unenthusiastically, feeling stupid for getting himself into this situation. They sat him on a table and Blaine was already tying a tourniquet around his good arm. "Sorry to rush things along Sebastian but the sooner we get you out of pain and calm the better. I'm giving you some morphine."

Sebastian was a bit panicked but Hunter put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Sebastian. Blaine has this really cool numbing gel so you'll barely feel it."

He relaxed a little at that and laid his head back down, settling on nodding firmly.

"Alright, I've got the vein. I'm gonna let this numbing medicine sit here for a second Sebastian, it's gonna feel funny and cold."

Sebastian flinched at first but then relaxed as he got used to the feeling of Blaine rubbing the gel on his arm. It sat for a few minutes before Blaine was ready to continue. Sebastian felt Blaine rub his arm with something a little rougher and upon smell remembered it was a rubbing alcohol wipe. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for the next part.

However Blaine inserted the needle with ease and Sebastian only started squirming around after he saw the needle in his arm.

"There. Hard parts over. Now relax and let the medicine work Sebastian."

Sebastian got more squirmy once he felt the cold medicine start to enter his arm. "It feels cold. I think it burns," he panicked a little.

Hunter squeezed his shoulder comfortingly again. "It's okay Seb, it'll go away in a minute."

Sebastian nodded stiffly and tried to keep from moving around too much. However, after a few minutes the pain in his arm, hand, and face started to ease up and everything felt slow. Sebastian felt kinda dizzy and his body was heavy. The drugs went to his head quickly and it was making him feel kinda sick, so he closed his eyes.

"Sebastian I'm gonna look at your hand really quick okay?"

Sebastian nodded and then felt gloved hands unfolding his clenched fist. It didn't hurt so the drugs must've been good.

"Are you feeling okay Sebastian?" Blaine checked in again. Sebastian nodded. "Okay. We're gonna take an X-ray of your hand so don't get scared when we step out for a second."

Sebastian wasn't bothered by too much right now. The drugs made it hard to comprehend what was going on, but he came to a few minutes later with a cast and a few splints on his fingers.

He held his hand up in awe. "Wes is gonna be pissed," Sebastian laughed to himself.

"Well I'm glad you find this so funny. So Sebastian did punching the wall make your face feel any better?" Hunter teased, smiling down at him.

"Nope," Sebastian admitted. "Still hurts."

At that Hunter frowned. "I'm sorry Sebastian. I'm gonna help you. Sit tight okay?"

Sebastian nodded and went back to his peaceful drug-induced nap while Hunter secretly retrieved some tools. Sebastian woke up again to a hand on his shoulder. "Hey buddy, I need you to wake up again. I need to look at your tooth really quick to see if an infection has sprung up. That way we can get the antibiotics in you now while Blaine's got the IV in. Sebastian I know this is scary so do you want Blaine to hold your hand?" Hunter asked patiently.

Sebastian wasn't sure until a light was moved over his mouth and he felt his stomach jump into his chest even despite the drugs that he blurted out he'd hold Blaine's hand.

"It's okay Sebastian. Hunter won't hurt you. Just close your eyes," Blaine said, squeezing his good hand encouragingly.

Sebastian pinched his eyes shut and squeezed Blaine's hand. He heard plastic being pulled away and then the distinct clink of tools. "Okay, Sebastian can you try to open up best you can for me?" Hunter requested.

Sebastian trembled as he tried to open his mouth, but his jaw was sore and it was difficult. He winched but managed to open enough for Hunter to see if he turned Sebastian's head a certain way.

Hunter looked with a mirror and saw the problem pretty quickly. "We're definitely going to need antibiotics," he said to Blaine under his breath. Hunter continued to look carefully and tested something with the explorer, realizing the cavity that was hiding in the tooth now reached the pulp and even some of the buccle surface of the tooth.

Sebastian winched when he felt the cold metal against his sore tooth out of reflex and whimpered. "I'm sorry Sebastian. I'm done," Hunter said, retracting the tools. "Listen buddy, you're gonna have to stay here a little longer so you can get some anti-inflammatory medicine for your hand and some antibiotics for your tooth. Okay? But I'll stay here as long as you want me to," Hunter reassured.

Sebastian nodded pitifully. Hunter stayed with him and Sebastian honestly appreciated the company. He received more pain medicine throughout the night to keep him comfortable and was discharged the next day.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Sebastian admitted as Hunter helped the younger back to his dorm. "I'm an idiot."

"You're not an idiot– you're scared. There's a difference. I'm sorry this is happening to you. Even more sorry for your wall though," Hunter joked. "Seriously though, take your medicine exactly as directed so we can fix this in 6 days okay? Please? For your own sake."

"No promises," Sebastian said.

"At LEAST no more wall punching then."

"Deal. I've only got one good hand left anyway."

Hunter laughed. "Oh, Sebastian. Let me know if you need anything. Please don't fall apart between now and the next time I see you."

"I think I'm already in pieces here."

* * *

_*6 and a half days later*_

As the week went on Sebastian took his medicine as directed, but his hand and face still hurt. Even with the medicine he was prescribed he could still definitely feel pain in both.

A knock at his door around 3 made Sebastian's stomach turn and his breathing hitch. "Please no," he whispered to himself.

"Let me in please," Hunter spoke from behind the door.

Sebastian curled in on himself fearfully. "Please don't," he whispered again.

"It's gonna be okay Sebastian. I promise I won't let you be scared, but you have to trust me and open the door."

"I can't move," Sebastian said in a whisper.

"You can Sebastian. It's okay. You know you can trust me."

And to be fair, Sebastian couldn't argue with that. He trembled like a leaf the whole time but he slowly unlocked the door and sat down on his bed. Hunter sat down next to him.

"Talk to me. What are you afraid of? You know I won't hurt you Sebastian."

"Root canal is gonna hurt either way. Or at the very least feel pretty uncomfortable as the tiny files go in and out of my tooth. No thanks."

Hunter sighed. "I promise it doesn't hurt. Uncomfortable maybe but I'll give you the good drugs and you'll sleep through it."

Sebastian shook his head frantically. "N-no, I'll feel it! You're going to be drilling and filing in my tooth and you're just gonna pretend like I won't FEEL THAT?!"

"Sebastian I understand your concerns. That's why I got you this prescription. Here. Take one. There's 2 in there if you need one a little later. It's Klopine. It's a mild anxiety medicine. It won't make your head foggy, it'll just help you relax and maybe feel a little sleepy. I've heard they taste like chalk but it works faster if you chew it."

Sebastian accepted the tiny orange bottle from Hunter and took one. "We won't start until I'm calm right? Can we go somewhere while I wait for this to kick in?"

"Absolutely. Let's go sit outside. The weather is great this time of year and it'll get your mind off things."

Sebastian and Hunter walked around a bit and appreciated the views of the grounds and the blue sky. He could've almost forgotten what today would hold. When he remembered again Sebastian started to feel sick. "Shouldn't the medicine be working by now?"

"Should be. If you still feel panicky it's safe to take the other one."

Sebastian quickly took the other pill in the hopes that would somehow make this better. "Hunter are you sure I'll be able to do this?"

"Absolutely you can. Sebastian trust me. I won't let you feel any pain."

Sebastian nodded hopelessly. Why'd it have to come to this? He was so stupid. Why'd he always have to learn the hard way? "I can not do this Hunter."

"You can. Remember how much the gas helped last time?"

"This is different!"

"Yeah and that's what higher doses are for. Let's head back to my office. I'll show you what I mean," Hunter tried to convince the younger.

"Hunter, noooo," Sebastian whined. "Don't bullshit me now, I'm serious. This is gonna suck isn't it?"

"No Sebastian," Hunter said calmly. "It will be time-consuming and your jaw will be sore after, but you'll be drugged and happy. It will be more than tolerable, I assure you."

"My panic attack doesn't believe you."

"Panic lies, can't trust it," Hunter said pointedly. "But by all means go back to learning this lesson the hard way."

That didn't sound fun either so Sebastian shut up and let Hunter led him to his office. This was probably gonna suck, okay, but at least he trusted Hunter. He was his kinda friend / big brother type person. Sebastian still didn't understand it in all fairness.

"So what made you take such pity on me, Hunter?" Sebastian decided to ask.

"You're just somebody that needs the right person to help them and be patient– someone kind and understanding. So me basically. Lucky I exist huh?"

"I'll probably feel quite the opposite when you've got a drill in my mouth later but let's just go with whatever answer makes you continue taking pity on me."

Hunter chuckled. "Either way you'll receive the best treatment from me. You've got this. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"I wish I could believe that," Sebastian muttered under his breath. "Hunter it's gonna hurt. I've had deep fillings before. They don't feel good. A root canal is gonna be even more uncomfortable, please please don't make me do this," he started succumbing to his fears once again.

"Hey whoa, listen to me kid. I will not hurt you. Yes these things take a while and can be uncomfortable but that's why I gave you the medicine earlier and why as soon as you come in here and sit down I'll get you started on the gas. If you get scared I'll stop and give you a break, turn the gas up higher. Whatever you need. I promise I won't let you be scared. I haven't done all of this to make your phobia worse Sebastian I assure you," Hunter tried to reason but Sebastian was starting to hyperventilate.

"I-I s-s-sorry Hunter! I should've trusted you earlier and now this is h-happening and I'm sorry– I'm so stupid, this is my fault," Sebastian sobbed. He felt weak and could've just cried on the grass outside of Hunter's office and clung to the ground, stomped his feet, fought, whatever it took. He couldn't go in there. The second he fell for it he'd be trapped.

"Sebastian! Sebastian please it's okay. This isn't your fault. Look at me. You know me. You trust me. I'm not mad and I won't hurt you. I'm not like them. You're like a little brother to me Sebastian, please calm down. Never in a million years would I hurt you," Hunter coaxed and coaxed, eventually forcing Sebastian to look at him. "Sebastian look. I'm not the person that hurt you. I'm Hunter. I'm here for you. I care about you. You know I'm not like them, don't listen to whatever your anxiety is telling you."

Sebastian was literally on the ground sobbing when Hunter finally got his attention and got him to snap out of the fit he worked himself into. Hunter slowly helped him off the ground as he sniffled pathetically. "C-can we go in your personal office? I don't wanna sit in the chair yet Hunter please don't make me."

"Sebastian, absolutely whatever you need. Let's come sit down in my office and give your anxiety medicine more time to work. You're gonna be okay."

Sebastian believed Hunter once he calmed down and allowed the older to lead him into the office and into Hunter's personal office. "Sebastian I'm sorry you're so scared. Do you want to talk about it or ask me any questions?" Hunter asked gently.

Sebastian plopped down on the sofa in Hunter's office and laid vertically, closing his eyes. "I just want to pretend I'm not where I am right now."

"You can do this. Remember what we went over in exposure therapy? But that's okay. This isn't exposure therapy. Take all the time you need." Hunter turned on some music to distract Sebastian. They sat there for quite a while until Sebastian finally spoke up again.

"Hunter, I know you're not a therapist, but I feel like I need to tell you something. I don't know why I feel the urge to tell you now but you're the only adult I've ever trusted and I think you just need to understand why it's so hard for me to trust people," Sebastian said, still closing his eyes.

Hunter's face softened and he got a sick feeling in his stomach. That feeling you get when you know you're about to hear something awful. "You can tell me if you feel comfortable doing so Sebastian. It'll stay between you and me."

Sebastian nodded a little and tried to keep from crying. "Somebody I trusted hurt me when I was a kid. I didn't know it was wrong until years later and I still don't know if I've processed it. A family friend my parents trusted to babysit me would force me on the bed and would do things to me and– I don't wanna talk about any more details. I don't know why I dropped that on you– I'm sorry. I just– it's just so hard for me to trust people and you're the only person I've ever trusted Hunter and I needed someone to know. I've been holding this in for too many years. Today everything is getting to me and I feel like everything that I've ever been upset or angry about is hitting me all at once. I don't know what's wrong. What's wrong with me Hunter? Why can't I catch a fucking break?" By the end of the confession, Sebastian was full-on crying again.

There's no way to describe how sick hearing his suspicions confirmed made Hunter. He'd suspected something bad happened to Sebastian but of course, he didn't want to be correct. It made a lot of Sebastian's behavior make sense. Why at 14 he chose to get the hell away from his home, why his relationship with his parents was so rocky, and why the younger didn't trust anyone. Until now that is. Hunter didn't say anything as he walked over to Sebastian and pulled the teenager into his arms and allowed him to break down.

Surprisingly, with how messed up Sebastian felt right now he didn't fight against the hug. He clung to Hunter and continued to sob and get it all out of his system. For the first time in his life, Sebastian had someone. He'd never been hugged and held like Hunter was doing, not in a way that felt so sincere. He felt loved. This was genuine, unconditional, selfless love, and that just made him sob harder. He wasn't alone anymore.

After a few minutes, Sebastian's crying finally turned into sniffles and Hunter felt like it was appropriate to talk.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with you Sebastian. Nothing. You've been through a lot just in the past week and you're probably starting to realize that you really can't carry all of this on your own. That's more than any child or teenager should have to carry. Sebastian, you finally realized you can't do this alone and I couldn't be more proud of you. You have come so far and I appreciate you trusting me as a confidant more than words could ever express. As long as I'm alive and walking this earth you have someone, and that's a promise. Even after school. You will always be able to come to me."

Sebastian couldn't help it when he started crying again, but this time it was happy tears. All he could get out was a very sincere yet muffled, "thank you."

* * *

A/N: Okay I know this chapter is shorter than all of my other monster chapters, but I wanted to get this up today (for a special someone's birthday, you know who you are). I hope you're all enjoying this story despite the darker chapter. More coming soon. Please review so I know what everyone thinks! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Don't You Know The Kids Aren't Alright?  
a.k.a  
The Ugly Yellow Toothbrush**

**A/N: You can thank the lovely cuteasklaine0216 for helping me get this chapter up so quickly. I enjoyed letting you jump in, and you made a lovely Hunter as always! Nobody can resist these carrots!**

* * *

After Sebastian's confession and all of the crying, Hunter absolutely did not want to put the younger through any more trauma. He definitely didn't want to make him undergo a major procedure today, but unfortunately, this needed to be taken care of before the infection sprung up again. It was a matter of necessity, even if Sebastian wasn't quite in the mental state Hunter wanted him in, this is what he had to work with.

"Sebastian, I'll ask you one more thing before I drop it. Do you know how many years it's been since this happened? I mean do your parents–?"

Sebastian cut him off. "Of course they know. I told them as a child. They didn't want to believe their friend was capable of something so awful, so I made it all up. Naturally. Besides, I must've only been in pre-k or kindergarten. The statute of limitations is up. You can't do anything Hunter," he said in defeat.

Hunter sighed deeply, not wanting to resign himself to the fact there was absolutely nothing he could do about this now. But unfortunately, it was true. There was nothing he could do. "This is so messed up. I should be able to do something. You deserve some kind of justice Sebastian." Hunter was struggling to comprehend this himself.

"There is no justice. Haven't you learned that yet? You're a lot older than me, you should know by now the world isn't fair," is all Sebastian said.

And then everything was quiet again because Sebastian was right. Hunter let him rest on the sofa for a few more minutes, busying himself with paperwork so the time wasn't wasted. However, as Hunter watched the time tick by on the clock he realized he still had a lengthy procedure to do today. He really couldn't put it off any longer.

Hunter stood up to brew himself a cup of coffee. He yawned and slapped himself a few times, trying to wake up. Sebastian could sleep for a little longer while Hunter was waiting for the caffeine to kick in.

A half-hour more later, Hunter had no choice but to wake sleeping beauty. At this rate, it was already going to be dark by the time he finished.

"Seb, its time to wake up. I think your medicine has had enough time to kick in. We really need to do this thing, I would like to finish before midnight." All Hunter got was incoherent mumbling in response. "Oh come on now I didn't say you could sleep here."

The tired and emotionally exhausted teenager did not want to be pulled from his drug-induced nap, but he heard someone trying to wake him up. "Whaaaat," he said, rolling around a little. His mind started to catch up with the situation and he didn't like it. "Ugh. I think your couch fucked with my back."

"I think your back fucked with my couch Seb," Hunter said rolling his eyes. "You know the chairs in the exam room are comfy enough to sleep in." He gave Sebastian a chuckle and a smirk hoping Sebastian was still as tired as he thought.

That woke Sebastian up a little more and he stirred awake, sitting up. The anxiety medication dulled the panic wanting to rise in his stomach. It was almost keeping it at bay but there were still alarm bells going off in his brain. "It's not funny," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Hunter I think I'm still scared and you said you wouldn't make me do this if I was still scared."

Hunter shook his head slightly "I said I wouldn't let you be scared, remember? You haven't even let me try to help yet. You have to give me a chance to take your fear away Sebastian and we can't do that in here. Remember how the anxiety went down when I showed you how easy it was?"

Sebastian's brain was still blurry from the nap but he didn't like this. This was another one of those moments where the tiny adult in his head reasoned that this is when he needed to meet Hunter halfway and start working with him. But oh did he want to curl back up on this sofa and take a nap instead. Sebastian was battling with himself but knew at this point he needed to trust Hunter, fucking around is what got him in this situation in the first place. Sebastian swore inwardly but pushed himself up on the sofa more. "I don't feel ready but I feel obligated to say I at least trust you and I'm not going to fight you. Or I'll try really really hard not to anyway."

Hunter kneeled down to Sebastian's level and looked him in the eyes. "When you say fight me you mean verbally or MMA style, because I'm pretty sure when you first met me you could see I was a pretty tough-looking guy and it intimidated you." Hunter laughed at his own joke. "I'm kidding, if you swing at me I'd probably just try to avoid getting hit in the face."

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "I mean work against you. I don't think I wanna try to go all MMA on the Incredible Hulk over here. I need Bruce okay not Hulk, don't be Hulk. No smash." The teenager rubbed at his eyes some more. "Hunter you swear to me this won't be scary?"

"Can I be Steve Rogers instead? He's so nice and handsome." Hunter's eyes twinkled in admiration. "Everyone loves Captain America." The cheeky grin on his face fell "Sebastian am I a scary person? Answer me that."

Sebastian tilted his head in thought like a confused puppy and took a moment to think. "I mean you are all dapper and stuff, definitely more of a Cap. You're right. But I definitely don't wanna think about him doing– never mind. No, you aren't a scary person but this IS scary. Very scary. Even with the drugs in me, I still know this is one of my worst nightmares and I don't know how to put my mind at ease from that."

"Alright well, you just said yourself I'm not scary, so that puts us in a whole different ballpark. The bad memories before this awesome era of me centered around a scary man, so this changes everything, lucky you." Hunter stood up from where he was crouching and tugged on the cuff of Sebastian's sleeve. "Up with you up now, I'll help, but you need to follow me and trust me."

Sebastian could hear the alarm bells in his head sounding when Hunter tugged on his sleeve but then he had to force himself to remember how hard Hunter had worked to prove he wasn't like the others. He wasn't. Any other rational human would've given up on Sebastian, but here Hunter was still trying. So Sebastian took a deep breath and stood to his feet. "I really hope you know what you're doing dude."

Hunter started to put his arm around Sebastian as he stood up. "As far as fixing teeth I definitely know what I'm doing. The whole psychological trauma standpoint I'm a little new at so we're on a learning journey together there, but I am trained in patient easing, so I'm going to say you are allowed to succumb to safety behaviors today okay? This isn't exposure therapy anymore and you can do whatever makes you feel safer once we're in the exam room. I'd even recommend you shut your eyes and let me walk you where we're going. If you don't see the room it might help."

Sebastian started to feel a little better once Hunter spoke and he realized he was safe with him. It was still hard for Sebastian to admit what made him feel safe without feeling ashamed, but Hunter was pretty smart and was starting to catch on. "I think that's a good idea. I don't wanna see anything. Do you have a blindfold or something? We can do this Bird Box style." Sebastian trusted Hunter's methods at this point and just hoped this wouldn't be as scary as he'd been worrying it would be.

"Ah, mm no there are no blindfolds in this office, we usually let people bring their own," he chuckled. "Don't you trust yourself to keep your eyes shut?" Hunter took Sebastian by the shoulders and led him down the hall. "You know my brother and I would play this game where one of us was blindfolded and the other gave them directions on where to walk. It was a trust thing, anyway, that's the story of how I got my brother to step directly into a toilet. It was hilarious and I instantly felt bad."

"I mean if you want me to answer that honestly I really don't trust myself to keep my eyes shut, but I can try. Oh boy, this is weird. Don't lead me into a toilet please, I like these shoes." Sebastian kept walking until Hunter made him turn and for a second Sebastian was tempted to open his eyes but decided against it. "I can feel where we are now. It's like a Spidey sense or something. Shit. Okay but I'm trusting you. Or trying to. What's that- what are we doing?"

Hunter picked up on Sebastian's heightened sense of hearing "I'm going to explain literally everything I'm doing so you feel comfortable losing one of your senses." Hunter turned on the lights to the room and even that made Sebastian nervous. "That was the light switch, now we're taking four steps forward and on your left is the chair, go ahead and sit on it. You can face out if you want, that's it, good job." Hunter let go of Seb's shoulders now that he was situated. "I'm going to walk to your left over here and sit down okay? There's a trash can on your right that I'm gonna set here on the floor."

Sebastian was shaky letting Hunter take control and direct him where to go but allowed it to happen nevertheless, it seemed to be keeping his anxiety at a more manageable level. He sat down slowly in the chair and let his back press against the backrest of the chair as it was still sitting up. He almost laughed when he heard the trash can being moved. "You anticipating I puke huh? Come on I haven't puked on you yet, have a little faith." Sebastian could hear Hunter towards his left now and tried not to worry about what he was doing. "You should really try some essential oils or something for this smell. I hate it."

Hunter thought for a moment "I'm sure I have Febreeze in here somewhere," he opened a few cabinets. "I have hmmmmm pine crest. So your options are disinfectant or Christmas, what's it gonna be?"

"Sure go ahead and ruin Christmas for me too. I'm kidding just anything for the smell. For real look into some essential oil diffusers, I've heard lavender can be calming. Now I'm talking about essential oils. I think we've hit a wall in the conversation. So what do you have up your sleeve next mad man?"

"I guess you could say this is a... nightmare before Christmas, ahahaaa!" Hunter laughed with glee at his own dumb joke. "I am so funny I can't stand it." He reached into a drawer and pulled out a sterile set of tools and put it on the tray in front of Sebastian. "The click you hear is my tools, I'm putting them down over here. You think if I lean you back a bit you can handle it?" he asked in a calm tone.

Sebastian could feel the anxiety starting to crawl into his chest again, but there was no going back now. "That's fine," he said in a small voice. His breathing picked up a little as he heard the chair reclining and he felt himself starting to feel disoriented and trapped. "Okay this is completely stupid but do you have a stress ball or something I can squeeze because I don't know what to do with my hands and I feel really cold." Sebastian wasn't sure if it was actually cold or if it was the anxiety that was making him tremble but he was starting to feel more and more like a fish out of water with nothing to ground him.

Hunter looked piteously at his young friend. "I'm sorry Seb, if you're cold I can give you a blanket? They're really soft. And I also haaaaave this little guy." He plopped a stuffed bear in Sebastian's arms with a gleeful grin. "That's Barry, he's a... molar bear, get it? Man, I'm on a roll tonight." Hunter started looking through his cabinets for a blanket too.

"No not that stupid bear, I'll just take the blanket. I don't wanna cuddle with this monstrosity." Sebastian opened his eyes just long enough to glance at the bear in horror and handed back to Hunter. "That thing isn't helping anybody."

"Well fine then, it's not like anyone would know if you're just embarrassed to need the bear. Ah, here we are." He pulled out the blue blanket and laid it out over Sebastian. Hunter then decided to start getting the anesthetic ready at the counter while Sebastian was trying to get comfortable. "How are you feeling Seb? Used to laying down now? Should we continue on or do you want some more time?" It was getting late but Hunter would be damned if he made this worse by rushing it along.

Sebastian felt the blanket being laid over him and that helped him feel a little safer. He closed his eyes and tried to relax but he heard Hunter fiddling with tools or something and Sebastian started to get anxious again. "I don't know. What are you doing? I feel like we're getting closer and I'm starting to feel more freaked out." Sebastian was struggling to keep his eyes shut at this point. "Hunter I'm scared."

"Man you have hearing like a bat I swear." He saw Sebastian's eyes fluttering open as he squirmed around. "Okay okay, I'm getting the syringes ready for when you feel strong enough to get step one done." He came and sat next to Sebastian for a moment. "You can open your eyes if you want. Everything is fine, right now I just want you to focus on relaxing, I don't want to move forward if you're this scared, it's not good for you." Hunter stood up again and brought over one of the needles. "Do you want to hold this for a minute? You can get a good look at it and fiddle around."

Sebastian's stomach was aching with anxiety and every cell in his body was telling him to get the hell out of this chair and leave. But he knew he couldn't. His tooth still hurt, and it would still hurt if he left. He couldn't justify trying to get out of this to himself anymore. The rational side was starting to take over. He knew he couldn't run from this anymore despite how bad he wanted to. His eyes opened when Hunter started talking but he got panicky when he saw the needle, like Hunter had just pulled a gun on him. "N-no I don't wanna hold it. I don't need to see it." Sebastian tried to shake the flashbacks that started to resurface and realized seeing any tools were counterproductive and he needed to tell Hunter. He struggled to find his voice but he finally squeaked something out. "Please don't do that. It makes it worse. I don't want to see what you're doing. I already know how this works and what it feels like I don't need you to remind me right before it happens," Sebastian wasn't trying to be snappy but he was starting to panic again and his breathing grew rapid. It was getting harder to distinguish between this event and the other ones that caused this anxiety. He wanted to get up. He felt like a little kid again and he just needed to get out of this chair and find a bathroom or something and lock himself there, find anywhere safe. This didn't feel safe. Sebastian sat up but didn't leave, he hid his face in his hands. "Hunter you said you wouldn't let me panic."

Hunter recognized that his attempts at desensitization backfired and began to attempt to fix what he'd broken. "I'm sorry Sebastian, that technique seemed to work with a few of your apprehensive classmates. Some people are mechanically minded and like to know how everything works, I didn't realize that would trigger you so much and I'm putting it away." He made sure to cover everything with a towel now and sat up the chair a bit. "You're allowed to feel scared, I'm not going to make you lay down yet but I think it's time for, what did you call it last time, a cop-out?" Hunter smirked. "You wanna try laying down again if I promise not to do that anymore?"

Sebastian still felt shaky from the scare and for a few seconds he didn't want to move an inch. He knew Hunter's intentions were good but it just made Sebastian feel more trapped. He felt exactly like a little kid again. Trapped in a situation he couldn't leave without anything to hold onto for comfort. How would this be different? In this moment as he trembled and fought with himself to stay he really started to reflect on why he was so scared in the first place. But he wasn't little anymore and Hunter wasn't them. So Sebastian slowly uncovered his eyes and laid back down. "Okay. Just don't do that again," Sebastian said in a small voice. "I think I'm ready to cop-out. I don't wanna deal with all of the emotions this is bringing up. Now isn't the time to deal with them."

"Okay, we will definitely get the cop-out drugs, haha, and I won't scare you like that again I promise." Hunter stood up and walked towards the hall, "I'll be back in a minute let me go retrieve my cop-out drugs for you, just try to take some deep breaths while I'm gone."

Sebastian took a deep breath as he heard Hunter walk out of the room. He didn't want to open his eyes and remind himself of where he was again. Maybe if he just focused on the blanket or something, and let his mind drift, he could just wander somewhere else mentally. Sebastian tightened his grip on the blanket, feeling so small and stupid as he laid here. He at least had the foresight to keep his eyes shut as to not cause himself to start panicking again. He took some deep breaths and stroked the blanket. He heard footsteps a few moments later and resisted the urge to open his eyes. "Hunter?" he asked tentatively. "With my eyes closed this kinda feels like a horror movie, just so you're aware."

Hunter walked back in and his heart gave a painful squeeze at Sebastian's fearful inquiry "No it's just the homicidal maniac that lurks under the floorboards. I've come for your toes and one ear for some reason." He sat down on Sebastian's left again and laughed lightly. "Shall I walk around shouting where I am from now on?" He put down the tanks he had brought in and touched Sebastian's shoulder. "Alright, you ready to move forward? This should help on top of the klopine you had earlier. We can give it a good ten minutes to work and then see how you feel alright?"

Sebastian's lips turned up into an almost-smile that more resembled a smirk. "I'm ready. As long as you give me enough time to calm down I think I can do this. The drugs will probably help too," he said, resisting the urge to again admit how stupid he was for getting himself into this situation. It wouldn't fix anything now. It was time to roll with the punches. Well, hopefully Hunter knew what he was doing and it wouldn't feel like that. "I really hope this doesn't traumatize me more. Like please make a conscious effort to not add any more, cuz like I think I have enough."

"Well, I already added to it like what five minutes ago so if that's the case I'm not off to a great start." Hunter adjusted the knobs on the tanks and put the little mask on Sebastian's nose. "You're familiar with how this works if I recall, so just take some breaths and try your very best to lower your heart rate." At that, Hunter started to gather everything he would need as painfully quiet as he could so Sebastian didn't get panicky again. He figured talking would cover up the sound of drawers opening. "You know after this is all done and over you're gonna be even more confident than you already act you cocky little shit. Maybe you'll find a girlfriend so I don't always have to keep you company," he joked.

"To be fair I think what you did is at the bottom of the totem pole of the trauma of my life. So you're still good, or I would've left already." Sebastian felt the nose thingy being placed over his nose and tried to take deep breaths, inhaling the sweet scent of vanilla. "Oh boy, you're behind on the gossip aren't ya? You didn't catch that joke a few months back? You know what never mind you can pretend I'm straight, that's what my parents do anyway," Sebastian laughed to himself not realizing how sad it actually sounded saying it out loud. "And besides, last time I checked I do try to avoid your company other than when I can't anymore, like that time I accidentally broke my hand. That'll be one for the history books. I might even have this thing on for my junior yearbook photos," Sebastian smiled stupidly. "Oh no I'm having fun now, and that usually means it's time for you to shut it down. Don't take away my fun yet Hunter. Give me another minute to enjoy this."

Hunter smirked in amusement and took pity on Sebastian. "What kind of friend would I be if I took away your free high so quickly? You can have a few more minutes of uninterrupted bliss okay?" Hunter started to wash his hands after he spoke and added to the commentary from earlier. "I guess I thought you were just trying to make me uncomfortable when you yelled that last year hmmmm, well then I'm honored to fix your teeth and help you get a boyfriend. Alright, talk to me what's your type? Blondes? Brunettes? Tall? I know everybody here after all."

"Nope, wasn't a joke. And at least here nobody really cares. It was weird going from a super religious household where gay was basically a bad word. Then I got here and nobody gave a shit or questioned me. Nobody at Dalton makes you prove yourself or whatever. So my type? I don't think I have one. Just someone nice probably, that sees past the snarkiness. I'm a nice person deep down, I'd like to think anyway. But the sharpness keeps me safe. If someone cares enough to see past it then I suppose they'd be my type. I think I scare everyone off though," Sebastian chatted.

"You are truly the weirdest kid I've ever met Sebastian." Hunter shook his head tiredly at the ass-backward reasoning behind his attitude. He pulled on gloves without warning Sebastian and quickly backtracked. "I'm gonna turn the light on now and put some lidocaine in to get ready to numb you alright? Just gel, are you good with that?"

"Never said it made sense. My brain was just hot-wired the wrong way I suppose. But it makes sense when you think about it. If you get meaner than them they can't hurt you, but I guess I don't need to do that here. Nobody is trying to hurt me. I guess I am kinda stupid huh?" Sebastian wondered. "I'm okay with gel," he agreed. The gas was making this easier but he still wasn't completely out of it, just a little calmer. He knew needles would be coming next and that wasn't as cozy of a thought.

"Umm alright," Hunter mused. He grabbed the topical and gently helped opened Seb's mouth, "going all the way in the back here aaaand here, and a little here just to be on the safe side," he babbled as he worked. Hunter was going to make damn sure this terrified boy was copiously drugged, sedated, and numb that was for certain.

Sebastian took another deep breath and inhaled sharply when Hunter helped him open his mouth but relaxed when he realized it was just a Q-tip. He relaxed a little and tried to just inhale the gas and relax, distance himself from this nightmare. He really hoped the injections didn't hurt this time. But Hunter was different. He really hoped it would be different anyway. Sebastian clung tighter to the soft blanket for comfort. He was trying so hard to power through this. Slowly however the gas seemed to blur his thoughts. It was all hitting at once and he was definitely starting to feel the effects. Maybe this was for the better. If he couldn't think he couldn't be scared.

"Mmmm you look happier now, and I use happier very loosely," he spoke. He thought about his next move carefully before deciding to go for it. "Hey uh Sebastian, I know you're in a very trusting state right now," Hunter spoke sarcastically, "but I have to ask, would you mind if I called someone in to help with uh... handing me stuff, you know the complexities?"

Sebastian sat there with the Q-tips in his mouth and couldn't really talk. He didn't want anyone else to come in but logistically he knew this procedure would be more complicated so it would only be fair to Hunter to say yes. "Only if you trust them," Sebastian tried to say.

Hunter laughed, "well if I didn't trust them I don't think they'd be allowed to work here." He pulled out his phone and shot a text to his coworker asking if they mind getting some overtime in tonight. "Hey, you know if anyone laid a hand on you I'd rip their throat out right?" Hunter assured.

"Slow down Mr. Hero, we get it you're a badass," Sebastian tried to say comically. "Who's it?" he tried to ask. "Who else are you gonna embarrass me in front of?"

"Well, first of all, you control your own emotions so you'll embarrass yourself without my help. Second of all his name is Kurt and he's a lot less snappy than me, so maybe you'll like him I don't know." Hunter moved Sebastian's chair a little more. "Anyway, he's gonna come over, so why don't we move along before he gets here, are you ready for me to numb you?"

Sebastian was really out of it, the gas must've been up pretty high at this point. But he was still apprehensive. "Are you good at injections Hunter? Is it gonna hurt?" he worried. "Last time it really hurt."

"Pffff, am I good at injections? Is my middle name mason?" Hunter smiled at Sebastian even though his eyes were closed. "I'll let you decide what that means." He picked up one of the syringes on the counter behind Sebastian. He scooted closer and put a hand on Seb's shoulder, "alright buddy, can you open up for me, I'm pretty damn good at this if you'll let me show you."

Sebastian shivered inwardly as he heard Hunter pick up one of the syringes. At that point he really didn't have any choice but to trust Hunter, so he ever so tentatively opened his mouth to allow Hunter to do his thing.

"Good job buddy, you're doing great." Hunter adjusted himself and brought the needle up at an angle Sebastian couldn't see just in case he did open his eyes. "You know, it's a shame you didn't see me when you were a kid you wouldn't have even known what I was doing. I went to this really sweet older guy and get this, he was so good at fooling me that I didn't know they used needles to numb you till I was an adult. Now imagine being a grown teenage boy and freaking out at that reality, hehe." Hunter finished up and pulled out from where he was working, "one and done, ready for round 2?"

Sebastian's head was clouded from all the drugs and he just forced his body to go rigid, afraid he'd flinch away subconsciously. He felt something heavy enter his mouth and waited for the sting and was confused when it didn't come. "Wait I'm confused. You did it already?" Sebastian asked, feeling at his face in disbelief. He could cry from relief. "You're not messing with me that was really it? Because I felt something but I mean I didn't even realize that was the injection."

Hunter was beside himself and beamed. He took the sharp off the syringe and held up the empty cartridge. "Open your eyes and see for yourself, see it's all in there. We only have to do that two more times, think you're up for it?"

Sebastian was weary but he slowly opened his eyes. "Two more times? I mean I guess this is different and you're taking extra precautions. Sorry, I'm interrupting. Just finish," Sebastian gave Hunter the go ahead and not let the number of injections that were involved in this freak him out. The gas seemed to be helping enough. He felt something heavy in his mouth again and just stood still but tried to keep his breathing steady. If he thought really hard about his breathing he barely felt it. He was clutching the blanket waiting for some kind of pinch but Hunter must've really been good because it didn't hurt, and Sebastian was confused and relieved all at the same time. When he was finally done Sebastian was still in shock. "I don't understand how it was possible that I didn't feel any of that. Are you just that good or is the gas up so high it's dulling the pain? I don't even care. I can't believe that it didn't hurt."

Hunter put the last syringe down and turned off the light for the time being. "I don't mean to brag but I am just that good you know? I have never heard any complaints from the other boys hmmm." He checked on the levels of nitrous, "and the dose I'm giving you is really not that high to be honest, which means that I have dazzlingly surpassed your expectations for the night and you can relax now and trust that you're going to be okay yeah?" Hunter got a buzz from his phone at that moment. "I'll be right back I have to go unlock the door for Kurt, sit tight," and he left the room.

Sebastian sat there sorta stunned that it went so well. He had a few more concerns he wanted to voice to Hunter but he left before he could say anything. Then he suddenly worried if he'd still be able to voice his concerns in front of this other stranger. He tightened his grip on the blanket and covered his mouth because as stupid as it was, that was making him feel safe right now. He then started to notice how absolutely weird and large half of his face felt. This stuff worked fast. He messed around with his sore tooth a little with his tongue and sure enough, it didn't hurt. It was bizarre. Maybe this would go well. He took another deep breath and shut his eyes when he heard two sets of footsteps coming in.

Hunter went to let Kurt in and whispered quietly as they walked to the back. "He's really skittish Kurt so be extra gentle and deliberate with your movements okay? You can't startle him, I finally got him to a calm state and-" hunter looked a bit deflated as they walked in and saw Sebastian succumbing to his safety behaviors. "Hey Sebastian, I'm back and I brought a friend with me. Is everything okay? You were doing so well, tell me what's wrong buddy," he spoke as they both sat down.

Sebastian was unsure about the new person despite all of the drugs in his system. Hunter had been working for years to build up his trust, he didn't know Kurt. He took another deep breath in through his nose, trying not to panic. "I wanna talk to you more before you start anything," is all Sebastian managed to squeak out.

"That's okay man, tell me what's wrong. Talk to me I'm listening." Hunter pulled his stool closer and put his hand on Sebastian's shoulder. "Do you want to meet Kurt and talk to him for a bit too? He's great I swear by it."

Sebastian was unsure of what he wanted in his drugged state. He slowly lowered the blanket from his mouth once he realized there was no immediate threat. "I uh– I just need to know that I won't feel it. I'm scared I'll be able to feel it and it'll freak me out and I won't be able to communicate that."

Hunter sighed in relief, "well that's an easy answer, I was going to check that anyway, but is there something else you need to talk to me about?" Hunter looked over to Kurt, "maybe you want to talk alone for a minute?"

He looked skittishly to Kurt and slowly nodded to Hunter. He still needed some last minute reassurance before he handed over full control to these two people. After Kurt stepped out for the moment Sebastian grew a little more chatty. "Hunter I'm scared that I'll feel the drilling and the filing."

Hunter shook his head, "I'll show you that you won't, it's not going to happen seb I assure you." He picked up a tool off the tray and held it up, "do you want me to check right now so you can see?" Hunter smiled gently at Sebastian and turned on the light above him. "I'm not trying to force you to trust me, but this is the only way I can confirm what I'm saying."

Sebastian's eyes fluttered open for a moment before he shut them again. "I know it feels different, I can tell my tooth hurts less. But it'll be different when you go deeper and I'm just worried I'll be able to feel that. Do you swear I won't Hunter? And if I get scared you'll stop?" Sebastian asked before opening his mouth a little once again.

Hunter clapped his hands together and sat tall and confidently. "Sebastian, that is a valid concern you have and I'm not going to deny or belittle it, but I'm skilled at what I do and of course I'll stop if you want me to. I'm not a monster that's going to turn dark and grab you... and neither is Kurt by the way so try not to be so squishy when he comes back in." Hunter picked up his explorer again and went in to tap on Sebastian's bad tooth, he smirked as there was no reaction as if to say 'see I told you'

The young teenager was reluctant but allowed Hunter to go in with the explorer to test for a reaction. He felt a little better once he still didn't feel any tingles of pain despite Hunter scraping at his bad tooth. "Okay, I believe you. I'm still nervous. Maybe turn the gas up a tad bit higher. I'm still not thrilled about this, but you can bring Kurt back in. If you trust him I trust him. I'm just gonna close my eyes and try to block you two idiots out."

"Acceptable but still, rude" Hunter spoke as he obliged Sebastian's request. "Kurt, we're set, you can come on in again," Hunter called out into the hall. His assistant stepped back in and sat down. "Hey, everything cool?" Kurt wondered. Hunter tossed him a pair of gloves and grabbed a few more things. "Everything is steady, we're working on it, but Sebastian is willing to give this a go right buddy? I do like this blanket so I'm going to lay a napkin on top of it so it doesn't get full of your gross spit alright?" Hunter teased.

"Hold on I have to get my earbuds, they're in my pocket," Sebastian flailed around until he retrieved the items and plugged them into his phone. "I knew I'd need these," he got music playing but only had one earbud in for now. "Okay I'm ready now, just tell me when it's time to put in my other earbud."

Hunter bit his lip in guilt and hesitated to ask the next question but he needed to know. "Seb, this is going to take a while and you're going to have to hold very still, are you going to be able to do that? Because if not we have this tool that can help while you're out of it, do you maybe want to try that?" Hunter coaxed. Kurt gave a skeptical look to his boss and the teen waiting to see how well this conversation was going to go. He just crossed his arms and sat back waiting for the argument with an amused look playing coyly on his lips.

Sebastian furrowed his brows in uncertainty, hating the idea of his mouth being pried open. But at the same time, he was already going in and out of sleep. "You can try it. I feel tired. I'm probably gonna fall asleep. I just don't want my mouth stuck open too wide," Sebastian said in a small voice. He tugged on the blanket again fearfully. "You swear you got this Hunter?"

"Hey I've got this in the bag c'mere," he fished under the covers for Sebastian's hand and pulled it out, "fist bump me dang it, I've got this on lock and I'm the swaggest dentist on campus dawg, word," he crossed his arms and threw up a nonsensical gang sign to try and make Seb laugh. "Seriously though, you'll let me try the tool? It won't be that bad I promise." Hunter looked to Kurt to go get what he was referring to.

Even in Sebastian's intoxicated state, he cringed at Hunter. "Please stop, I've already cringed and been uncomfortable enough times today. Don't do that. Seriously. Never again. Gross," Sebastian muttered. "I'll try the tool but if it's too big I'll raise my hand," Sebastian agreed reluctantly.

"Alright deal, I'll stop being cool and you'll try to cooperate, seems fair." Hunter took what Kurt handed to him behind the chair. "Okay, anything left to say? I'm gonna effectively silence you for a while," Hunter teased.

Sebastian shook his head. "If I raise my hand stop, or if I get twitchy turn the gas up higher. I don't know. I worry too much. You know what you're doing. No last words I guess," he said before letting Hunter put the prop in his mouth. At first, he was unsure but eventually made a so-so motion to signal that it was tolerable and wondered if it was time to put in his other earbud yet. He peeked one last time to see what Hunter was doing.

Hunter placed the prop with just a little fuss from Seb and picked up the handpiece when he noticed Seb open his eyes a bit. "Eyes shut mister, you don't need to make this harder on yourself understand?" He spoke sternly but with kind eyes.

Sebastian shut his eyes back sadly because he was just being nosey after all, but decided Hunter was probably right as usual. He plugged his other earbud in and resigned himself to the situation and prayed he didn't feel any of this. He needed this to go smoothly more than anything. Sebastian didn't want to keep running from this for the rest of his life. He just wanted it done with now so things could finally be easy and dare he hope, normal? He had so much faith in Hunter. Sebastian took in another deep breath of the gas and kept his eyes shut tight.

"Okay Seb, music up eyes shut, you're going to be perfectly safe," Hunter noted. "Kurt if you'd be so kind as to hold this." He handed him a tube and tested the handpiece to see what Seb's reaction was going to be.

Sebastian turned the music up all the way and tried to distance himself from this. If he was lucky maybe he'd fall asleep before it got too bad. But Hunter knew to stop if something went wrong and Sebastian trusted that at the least. So he continued to steady his breathing and focus on the music. He started to tremble a little bit after a while as the constant spraying of water and other things was starting to get cold and feel kinda weird. Was something wrong? Maybe his jaw was just starting to get sore. Sebastian blinked a few times, trying to figure out if it was just cold or it was stinging. He relaxed a little when he realized it must've just gotten a little colder because– and then his train of thought was lost again probably for the better. He didn't wanna think about the logistics of this. He wanted to block this out and sleep.

Hunter shrugged his shoulders at the minimal reaction he got out of Sebastian. "Well this is going surprisingly well I'd say." Kurt just shrugged in surprise as well. "I can't really comment because I have no idea what normal is in this little relationship you have going on so I'm just gonna continue suctioning and keep my mouth shut here."

The teen was sort of aware of the soreness in his jaw but nothing really uncomfortable was happening, so he was okay. He kept dozing in and out of sleep except when he'd hear the handpiece in between songs or when a new sensation startled him.

Hunter was very pleased with how easy this had become from the fight it was earlier, soon he'd finished with the handpiece and put his loupes on to start phase two and pulled one of Seb's earbuds out. "Alright Seb, this part is quieter but might be a little strange, it's the most important part though so stillness is key. If you need a break now is a good time."

Sebastian heard what Hunter was saying when he stopped and took an earbud out of his ear. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of sitting here with his mouth pried open. That didn't seem like a fun break. So Sebastian just shook his head and declined the offer of a break, however he did point to the nitrous canister and made an upwards pointing motion, figuring Hunter would get the message. This was the part he was most worried about and he wanted to sleep through it. He put his earbud back in and tried to steady his breathing again because Hunter said this part was important and even in Sebastian's drugged state he knew to stay still.

Hunter looked skeptical at Sebastian's request. "You want it up, Sebastian? That's... I mean I can, okay fine, just gonna let you know you're approaching sedation levels here." Hunter obliged his request to be basically knocked out. "Then again, sedating you has basically been our strategy from the get-go." Kurt just looked concerned at this point.

Sebastian wasn't concerned if Hunter wasn't, and to be honest he didn't remember a whole lot from after that point on thankfully. He didn't remember any fear or pain. He was able to drift off to sleep peacefully for a little bit while they finished working. Maybe when he woke up this nightmare would be over.

"Hey, hey you with the stupid face, wake up," Hunter shook Sebastian. "I mean it I'm tired and it's close to 10 at night I want to go home," he whined. Hunter flicked the overhead light on and off in Sebastian's face to bother him. "Sebastian, awaken."

Sebastian strained his eyes, confused for a second but then quickly coming out of it. "Sorry, sorry. I think I fell asleep." Sebastian yawned and noticed his face was still very numb. He sat up and cradled his cheek pathetically. "This is gonna feel great once the numbing stuff wears off I bet," he said sarcastically. "It feels weird, Hunter. Should I be worried about anything?" he asked, trying to stand up.

Hunter rolled his eyes sarcastically. "And what kind of butcher would I be if I didn't already have a prescription for you waiting in my pocket," he stated matter of factly as he handed over an orange pill bottle with Sebastian's full name on it. "You should definitely take one of those now and use them sparingly. No more free high understand?"

"Oh good," Sebastian said. "You don't have to give me the whole substance abuse spiel Hunt, I think we both know the only time I need these is when you carve me from the inside like the most disappointing jack-o-lantern," he said, taking the bottle. "Or when I punch walls, but I'm gonna write that off as some kind of mental breakdown. I should be fine now. Sorry, it's probably dark now. You did good though. I don't think there was any trauma involved, shockingly. I don't remember a whole lot," Sebastian said blinking. He was still kinda out of it so he just helped himself to a cup of water to take the pill, per Hunter's advice. "Okay. See I took my drugs and I let you fix my face. You can return me now. Like a repaired toy to a shop. Well my hand is still broken so, not completely repaired yet but we'll get there," Sebastian said, dropping the now empty cup in the trash. He tried to smirk but his face was off for obvious reasons. Sebastian was so relieved to have this over with, and have a positive memory in the place there used to be a bad one at that. It was shocking really. Sebastian turned to Hunter one last time for the night. "Thank you for not giving up on me," he said sincerely.

"You are very welcome, and I'm not sure how I feel about being an elf because what you basically described are the duties of an elf at Santa's workshop." He frowned and handed Sebastian a mirror. "Wanna see your brand new beautiful restoration? Look at how perfect it is!"

Sebastian scrawled at the mirror. "I'm sure it is but I'm not too fond of looking at myself like this, it's sorta a trigger seeing my face all banged up and swollen. It makes this more real. So know I completely appreciate your work but I probably won't fully until my face heals a little," he said, handing back the mirror apologetically. "I know Sebastian the joy killer. I just really wanna be done with this for tonight. Now, are you gonna help your slightly still intoxicated friend get back to his room safe or are you gonna risk me getting eaten by a wolf?" Sebastian asked comically, leaning on the edge of the door frame.

"There are wolves at Dalton Academy now? I didn't know downtown Westerville had wolves. Hmmmm," Hunter wiped down the counter space behind him with a disinfectant and the signature smell of the room returned in full force. "Ahhh nothing like a clean room. Come one let's get you back to your bed."

"You didn't hear about the budget increase? We can afford wolves now," Sebastian said jokingly. He crinkled his nose as he watched Hunter disinfect the room and tried not to let it make him feel sick. "Gross. That's why the smell never goes away. Maybe I shouldn't let you walk me back to my room, you're gonna have it smelling all funky," he grumbled as the two ventured back out into the night. It was dark and slightly chilly now, a drastic change from this afternoon. It made Sebastian realize how long this must've taken. "Damn you were working a long time. That's dedication. But clearly I did the most work by sleeping through it," he smirked.

Hunter squinted disapprovingly at Sebastian's reprimand. "Would you rather have hundreds of teenage boys spit laying all over my office? I mean yes the uniforms give you all the illusion of a manicured lifestyle but some of your classmates..." Hunter clicked his tongue in disapproval. "You'll just have to get used to the smell of rubbing alcohol is all I'm saying." Hunter all it shoved Sebastian out the door to his office. "Since I actually did all the work I think I'll take tomorrow off. Do something fun. Halloween is coming, and despite your sad comment about being a jack-o-lantern I'm actually artistic enough to carve a proper one... maybe I'll make him look happier than you. That'll teach you."

Sebastian scowled at his older friend. "One, too much information. Two, do whatever you want so long as it doesn't end up outside my dorm. Now as grateful as I am for the absolute nuisance that is yourself, I think I need to go sleep for 10 years now. You should too. Thanks again for helping me. I'll try to be nicer next time, maybe senior year I'll even show up for appointments myself? Who knows. There's a whole world of possibilities."

"If only you'd be so kind as to be that compliant Sebastian. Now get to bed before the pain meds kick in and make you loopy," Hunter sent Sebastian off.

"Oh but that's the fun part!"

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading. More to come probably. Ideas for this story are more than welcome (PM me). This was such fun to write so thanks again Meg for Hunter-ing with me!


End file.
